This thesis investigated the fundamental representations within the mental-lexicon and whether such representations are fixed or differ according to the characteristics of various languages. It looked at whether syllable structure is represented at distinct levels of linguistic representation at phonological and phonetic levels, with phonology governed by the demands of a combinatorial system (the need to create many distinct words from a small number of symbols) and phonetics governed by articulatory complexity (the need to keep motor programming as simple as possible). Empirical evidence as well as computational work was used to investigate whether syllable structure may be present as an abstract unit within the lexicon and not just computed online at the phonetic level. Three languages were explored in this work: English, Hindi and Italian. This project found evidence from English and Hindi patients with acquired language disorders to support the data previously collected from Italian patients. The empirical data was supported by computational work that considered the rates of resyllabification and storage costs based on the assumptions of different speech production models. Both the empirical and computational data support the hypothesis that syllable structure may be stored within the mental lexicon.

This dissertation applies corpus linguistics techniques to reveal patterns in the acquisition and use of personal pronouns. Setting out from Brown and Gilman's mould-breaking study of "the pronouns of power and solidarity", it argues that their focus on the metaphorical use of plurality in the second-person cannot account for the numerous ways in which canonical pronoun usage is routinely violated by both children and adults. Nonetheless, the concepts of power and solidarity remain productive ones and can help to account for the patterns revealed here. The first part of the thesis uses data from the CHILDES database to argue that 1st / 2nd person 'reversals' are a common feature of language acquisition which is not unique to children on the autistic spectrum. It also examines pronoun substitutions in the 'caregiver speech' of the mothers and finds a number of differences between the groups studied. The second part uses original purpose-built corpora of English and Dutch party election broadcasts to explore how power and solidarity are constantly re-negotiated in political discourse. The patterns of pronoun use are discussed in their social context, and it is found that amateur as well as professional politicians are adept at exploiting the pragmatic versatility of pronouns.

This thesis provides a thematic comparative review of some of the English translations of the Qur'an, including the works of Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Muhammad Asad, Taqiuddin Hilali and Muhsin Khan, and Zafarlshaq Ansari/Sayyid Mawdudi. In this study, a new and unique approach is used to review and compare these translations along with their commentaries. They are reviewed based on the following four Qur'anic themes: Injunctions, Stories, Parables, and Short Chapters. These are some of the key themes where the Qur'an translations, especially the ones with commentary, often differ from each other and can be assessed objectively. For each theme, three to four examples are taken as samples from the Qur'an, and they are studied from different points of view. For example, the translation of the verses with injunctions will be reviewed for their relative emphasis over the letter versus the spirit of the law, consideration of jurisprudence knowledge, overall objectives of Islamic law, issues of this age, and impact of the translator's environment. This approach is intended to identify further requirements for offering more accurate and more communicative translations of the Qur'an in the English language.

Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials has caused controversy as well as enjoyed great popularity among readers worldwide. Its influence has created a great impact in the field of children’s literature. The purpose of this thesis is two-fold. Firstly, the thesis analyzes gender representations in Pullman’s trilogy in the context of how he rewrites female archetypes through the subversive re-inscription of Eve, the invention of daemons, the reinvention of ‘femme fatale’, and the new portrayal of Gypsy women. Secondly, the thesis aims at comparing and examining how gender representations in the source text are translated, transformed or / and manipulated in its Chinese translation. With reference to Chinese gender ideology, which includes the Chinese concept of the ying-yang polarities, Buddhist notions of gender, the notion of the femme fatale, and the stereotypical image of Chinese grannies, the syntactic and semantic alterations made by the Chinese translator are investigated. Issues regarding how Chinese gender views may influence and alter the translation product are discussed in detail. By studying the similarities and differences in gender representations between the texts, the thesis attempts to shed light on the gender ideology of both English and Chinese contemporary cultures.

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Term i ddisgrifio'r ffenomen o gyfuno dwy iaith mewn un datganiad yw 'cyfnewid cod'. Mae defnyddio geiriau ac ymadroddion Saesneg yn nodwedd gyffredin o Gymraeg llafar, anffurfiol nifer o siaradwyr. Nid yw'r ffenomen hon yn unigryw i'r Gymraeg; yn rhyngwladol, ceir cymdeithasau sy'n defnyddio cyfnewid cod, gan gynnwys Canada ffrancoffon. Yn ogystal â bod yn nodwedd o iaith lafar, mae'n nodwedd hefyd mewn rhai testunau llenyddol. Bwriad y traethawd hwn yw astudio rhai o'r testunau hyn, gan archwilio patrymau o gyfnewid cod a'u cymharu â damcaniaethau ysgolheigion eraill. Datblygwyd methodoleg wreiddiol i ddadansoddi'r testunau'n ieithyddol gan dynnu ar fethodoleg ysgolheigion megis Callahan (2004) a Montes-Alcalá (2013b; 2015). Yn ogystal â thrafodaeth ieithyddol, dadansoddir y testunau yng ngoleuni damcaniaethau ôl-drefedigaethedd ac ôl-foderniaeth, gan bontio maes ieithyddiaeth a theori lenyddol er mwyn archwilio pa fath o destunau sy'n defnyddio cyfnewid cod ac i ba bwrpas. Rhennir y traethawd yn bedair prif adran. Mae'r bennod gyntaf yn cynnig arolwg o'r maes ac yn trafod gwaith ysgolheigion sy'n astudio cyfnewid cod, yn ogystal â darparu cyd-destun hanesyddol a chymdeithasol ar gyfer Cymru a Chanada. Mae'r ail bennod yn trafod methodoleg yr ymchwil presennol, yn arbennig y fethodoleg a ddefnyddir i ddadansoddi'r testunau. Yna, symudir i drafod canlyniadau'r gwaith codio (penodau 3-8), cyn trafod y corpws yn ei gyfanrwydd (pennod 9). Yn y bennod olaf, ehangir y drafodaeth gan ddadansoddi'r testunau fel llenyddiaeth yn hytrach na'u trin fel corpws ieithyddol. Bwriad y traethawd hwn yw deall elfennau o Gymru a Chanada'n well - eu hieithoedd, eu llenyddiaeth a'u cymdeithasau - drwy drafod y defnydd o gyfnewid cod mewn sampl o'u llenyddiaeth greadigol. Defnyddir methodoleg wreiddiol, sy'n defnyddio elfennau rhyngddisgyblaethol blaengar, gan gyfrannu at faes cyfnewid cod llenyddol a datblygu ar y modelau sy'n bodoli eisoes. Gobeithir y bydd yr astudiaeth yn cyfrannu at y drafodaeth ryngwladol wrth gymharu cyfnewid cod mewn llenyddiaeth o ddwy gymdeithas a chanddynt ieithoedd lleiafrifol.

This study investigates the writing strategies that Saudi university students utilise and the linguistic challenges they encounter during the process of writing in English. The study also compares the writing behaviour of two groups of writers: skilled vs. less skilled and male vs. female writers. Further, the possible inter-relationships between the main writing strategies and major linguistic challenges are explored. Data was collected using a writing proficiency test, think-aloud protocols (TAPs), observation, written compositions and stimulated recalls. The main sample consisted of 28 participants (14 skilled vs. 14 unskilled writers, 18 male vs. 10 female writers). Data analysis reveals that the writers frequently use ten writing strategies and encounter ten linguistic challenges. Some of the strategies are used more frequently by the skilled writers while others are more common among the unskilled ones. Similarly, male writers generally utilise fewer writing strategies than their female peers. While no significant differences are found between male and female writers in any one type of error, unskilled writers were found to make a larger number of errors in each category compared to the skilled writers. The study concludes with implications and recommendations for English writing pedagogy and research.

This Practical Theological thesis examines the uses, understandings, and attitudes toward the rite of Christian Initiation (variously known as 'baptism' or 'christening') in the Church of England, contrasting the experiences of churchgoers and clergy with non-regular churchgoers and demonstrating its pivotal role in ecclesiastical boundary drawing. It develops a critical conversation between ecclesiology, theology, and the assumptions of ordinary people, revealed in their language when discussing the rite. Corpus based methods are used to explore naturally-occurring language in various corpora from a variety of genres, from 1500 to the present day. It concludes that there are significant linguistic differences between clergy/regular churchgoers and non-regular churchgoers and that the roots of this split go back to before Reformation times. Non-regular churchgoers’ use of language to describe this rite is more varied than that of churchgoers, who rarely used the word 'christening' nor figurative uses of these words. Non-regular churchgoers attached great social importance to the rite, but this was little understood by clergy and regular churchgoers. The Church would benefit from understanding and appreciating these different perspectives, both to enrich their own experience of Christian Initiation, and to allow more sympathetic pastoral care for those requesting the rite for their children.

This study investigates how and to what extent following a training programme at postgraduate level affects trainee translators’ perception of translation problems and the way they justify their decisions. This study explores how trainee translators describe the strategies they used to identify translation problems and the justification of the decisions made, as well as to what extent trainee translators integrate the theoretical knowledge acquired throughout the course into translation practice. The one-year master’s degree programme in Translation Studies at the University of Birmingham was used as a case study to undertake this research. Data was collected at different stages throughout the academic year (2012-2013). The research techniques used in this case study consisted primarily of a translation task completed by trainee translators and accompanied by forms to comment on translation problems and translation strategies. The task was followed, in some cases, by retrospective interviews. Textual analysis using the appraisal system developed by Martin and White (2005) was used to examine the stance trainee translators adopted in describing their strategies. This study suggests that translation training, in particular theoretical knowledge of translation acquired throughout the programme, has an impact on the trainees’ perception of translation problems and the manner in which they justify translation strategies. The present study also advances a new hypothesis: trainee translators become more objective and assertive in the justification of their solutions as a consequence of following a translation training programme.

Rooted in the field of Descriptive Translation Studies, the thesis combines such different areas as corpus linguistics, literary, cultural, media and socio-historical studies of the UK, the Netherlands and Germany. Five translations (three German and two Dutch) of Agatha Christie's first detective novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles are analysed. Using the theories by Itamar Even-Zohar (Polysystem Theory) and Gideon Toury (Translation Norms), the different approaches translators have taken to the text are examined and their translation decisions explained by looking at the status and position translations from English, detective stories as such, and the writer Agatha Christie had in the country and at the time these translations were published.