In this thesis, I aim to investigate the variation of Persian pronominal address system and politeness strategies in contemporary Iranian society from a quantitative and qualitative sociolinguistic perspective. I focus on Persian speakers’ use and perception of pronominal address forms in the light of socio-cultural norms in contemporary Iran. Persian, has two personal pronouns for singular address, to ([to]) the familiar or intimate ‘you’ and šoma ([∫oma:]) the deferential or formal ‘you’ (historically the second person plural but now also used as second person singular). Moreover, Persian is a pro-drop language, so the interaction between address pronouns and agreement marking on the verb must be taken into account. Another significant feature of colloquial Persian is a hybrid usage of the overt deferential second person pronoun and informal agreement forming a mismatch construction (i.e. šoma with 2s verb agreement) and intra-speaker pronominal address switches that occur between the deferential and casual pronominal address forms. Those deviations from the prescribed forms and/or distribution of the address pronouns are very interesting aspects that may show different levels of politeness even in one utterance. Consequently, this research examines spontaneous data looking at the sociolinguistic distributions and the pragmatic functions of pronominal address forms in contemporary Persian language and politeness synchronically. Three types of spontaneous data were collected for the purpose of analysis: a) participant observation, b) natural media conversations and c) sociolinguistic interviews with Persian speakers. In this study, the quantitative analysis investigates the correlation of pronominal address forms with extralinguistic factors such as age and gender of speaker and addressee in the interactional data. The qualitative analysis sheds light on how pronominal address forms and their variation encode communicative strategies in face-to-face interactions. Based on triangulation of quantitative and qualitative results with sociolinguistic interviews, I propose a dynamic model of indexicality for Persian pronominal address forms, which accommodates different forms and functions of address pronouns in interactional stances.

<p>This study addressed the use and perception of Japanese self-reference terms for Japanese native speakers and second language (L2) learners of Japanese. Participants completed a Discourse Completion Task (DCT) and a Felicity Judgment Task (FJT) for quantitative analysis. Individual follow-up interviews were also conducted, which provided additional insight into native speakers’ and learners’ understandings of the uses of self-reference terms in Japanese. The results indicated that overall Japanese native speakers employed different self-reference terms depending on gender (of the speaker and listener), power differences, and situational formality. While some of the findings related to Japanese native speakers’ use and perception of self-reference terms align with previous studies, such as the use of the self-reference term <i>watashi</i> when speaking with higher power listeners (e.g., Ide, 1990b), there were new findings regarding the usage of other self-reference terms including <i>ore</i>, <i>jibun</i>, and <i>uchi</i>.</p><p> </p><p><br></p><p>This study also investigated the effect of a pedagogical intervention for L2 learners focused on Japanese self-reference terms. In addition to the DCT and FJT (as pre, post, and delayed post-test) and individual follow-up interviews, L2 learners also participated in a myriad of other classroom intervention activities within a learners-as-researchers framework (e.g., Tanaka, 1997; Ishihara, 2006) about Japanese self-reference terms (e.g., blog entries, interviews with Japanese native speakers). The L2 DCT and FJT results indicated that before the pedagogical intervention, L2 learners relied heavily on <i>watashi </i>while neglecting other self-reference options compared to Japanese native speakers. After the intervention, L2 learners were able to employ a broader range of self-reference terms (e.g., <i>ore</i>, <i>boku, atashi</i>). This indicates that the intervention helped facilitate L2 learners’ pragmatic competence with self-reference terms. The analysis of L2 usage of self-reference terms in blog entries and individual interviews with learners indicated that some learners employed different self-reference terms without resistance, while others displayed a stronger resistance to using new self-reference terms. Some learners overcame this resistance over the course of the semester, while others stayed with <i>watashi</i> until the end of the semester. Collectively, the results indicate development in pragmatic competence and also various developmental trajectories for different learners.</p><p><br></p>

There are four major patterns of the plural forms of personal pronouns in Modern Chinese, which are: Same Wording, Suffixation (Multisyllabic and Monosyllabic Suffixations), Sound Combination (Coda Suffix and New Wording), and Tonal Changes. Same Wording was the original plural pattern since the singular form was also used as plural form in Old Chinese. Suffixation was already appeared in Middle Chinese. Author suspects that Suffixation was a concept inspired by non-Han languages such as the Buddhist Sanskrit. Each Chinese dialect chose a way to represent this concept based on its dialectal characteristic, thus there are many dialects in China. For example, the [men] suffix in many northern dialects are phonologically and semantically related to the Tang dynasty suffixes, while the m- initial might has been originated in Tang dynasty dialects, the -n ending might be a result of Altaic language influences. Northern dialects have a simpler pattern due to the influence of Altaic languages, in comparison, the plural pattern of southern dialects are more complex due to the contact with Miao, Yao, Zhuang languages.

Cette recherche, qui porte sur la référence à soi dans le langage de l’enfant atteint d’autisme, vise deux objectifs. Le premier d’entre eux est de montrer que la référence à soi dépend de la cognition de la personne. Il en ressort que du fait de sa cognition particulière la personne avec autisme use d’un langage différent qualitativement et ce, de manière durable. Le deuxième objectif consiste à intégrer la référence à soi tant dans son usage typique qu’autistique au sein d’une théorie sémantique pragmatique et cognitive. Pour le premier objectif, je me suis appuyée sur l’analyse de trois corpus de langue française : un corpus longitudinal d’un enfant neuro-typique et deux corpus d’enfants atteints d’autisme. L’analyse des corpus a montré que ces trois enfants construisent pareillement la référence à soi à partir de leurs intentions communicatives et de l’input. Pourtant, chez l’enfant atteint d’autisme, le modèle mental de référence à soi est déterminé par des mécanismes cognitifs qui fonctionnent différemment chez lui. Il en découle une expression de référence à soi particulière, qui se caractérise par une priorité donnée à des formes non-standard, qui persistent à travers les âges parallèlement à l’usage standard de la première personne.Pour le second objectif, j’ai confronté deux théories contemporaines liées au concept de référence : la théorie de la référence directe (David Kaplan) et la théorie néo-frégéenne (Gareth Evans), qui sont reconnues comme deux philosophies de la référence (au locuteur). Il en ressort que la position mentaliste d’Evans pourrait mieux rendre compte de ce qui se passe au niveau mental lorsque l’on réfère à soi : c’est sous un mode de présentation épistémique spécifique que l’on réfère en réalité à soi-même, quelle que soit la situation. / This research focuses on self-reference in the speech of autistic children. Throughout this work, two main objectives were developed. The first was to show that self-reference depends on the cognition of the person. Consequently, the autistic person will manifest a different cognition over the long term, expressed qualitatively in terms of speech. The second objective was to integrate self-reference in its typical and autistic use into a semantic, pragmatic and cognitive theory.For the first objective, I based my analysis on three French corpora: a longitudinal corpus of a neurotypical child and two corpora of two children with autism. The analysis of the corpora showed that the three children construct their self-reference similarly, they build on their communicative intentions and the input. However, the two autistic children’s mental model of self-reference is determined by cognitive mechanisms that function differently for them. This results in self-reference expression characterized by the long-term use of non-standard forms, in parallel with the standard first person forms.For the second objective, I compared two contemporary theories of reference: the direct reference theory (David Kaplan) and the neo-Fregean theory (Gareth Evans) which are known as two philosophies of reference (in relation to the speaker). Evans’ mentalist position can make sense of what happens at the mental level when one refers to oneself: in all cases, reference to oneself is actually achieved through a specific and epistemic presentation.

This essay analyses the speech of the Dalai Lama and suggests possible effects that core aspects of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, such as the theory of selflessness, might have when a believer uses the personal pronouns I, you, he, she, we and they. Collected utterances of the Dalai Lama during the Charlie Rose Show has been used in order to conduct a threefold investigation, using pragmatic, discourse analytical and sociolinguistic backgrounds, aiming to understand these effects more thoroughly. Qualitative and quantitative approaches were used for this report based on previous studies with a data-based method. These approaches enabled the researcher to find, for instance, a consistent use of the first-person personal pronoun by the Dalai Lama in the material. Other findings include an acknowledgment of philosophical influence concerning the field of intentionality, when related to religious discourse, as Buddhism establishes religious discourse as being based on the speaker’s motivation alone. The status of the Dalai Lama notwithstanding, his use of personal pronouns was also not found to match the findings of previous research on status and the use of self-mention.

Pronouns carry considerable importance in language. The speaker’s identity and connection to the audience emerges through the consistent use of certain pronouns (De Fina, 1995). This research is about the use of we, us, and our in political discourse. Specifically, their use will be examined in the inaugural addresses of George W. Bush in 2005 and Barack Obama in 2009. The aim of this research is to examine the frequencies and the co-occurrences of these pronouns and then compare their use in these two speeches. More specifically, how do the pronouns examined affect the message and enhance hearer credibility. This is done by applying (a) a quantitative corpus linguistics analysis and (b) qualitative analysis of the context of use. The results show that there is a difference in frequency of pronoun use; however, the usage of pronouns is rather similar in the two speeches

This study has looked into what translation techniques Tulachandra and Barang have used in their English translation of Thai personal pronouns in Pramoj’s novel Four Reigns. Thai uses different personal pronouns to different people to signify social status, gender and intimacy, which may be challenging for the English translations to achieve. With the limited material available, the personal pronouns sadet, khun, mae, pho and various kinship terms and titles were explored. The results showed that the most frequent translation technique was equivalence, that is, the translating of Thai pronouns into the English I or you. The borrowing technique was also used from time to time. Due to language and cultural differences between Thai and English, it is not possible for the translations to achieve a hundred percent accuracy in terms of underlying meaning of the personal pronouns. The translators did, however, make an effort in keeping the special traits of the pronouns by adding a proper noun into the sentence.

A pesquisa apresenta a organização de um corpus inédito constituído de cartas pessoais da Bahia escritas nos anos 40 do século XX. A partir desse corpus foram reunidos fatos sociais que contam a história da região, ao mesmo tempo em que foram observados fatos lingüísticos que caracterizam o dialeto dos informantes e que representam características próprias do português brasileiro (PB). Dentre os fenômenos lingüísticos observados no corpus e que representam particularidades dialetais, os pronomes pessoais destacam-se com registros marcantes. Esse fato motivou e definiu o objeto de estudo desse trabalho: os pronomes pessoais. Apresento uma amostra de dados que reúnem os usos efetivos dos pronomes pessoais no corpus e os observo a partir de um modelo de análise empírica com tratamento quantitativo e qualitativo. Trago também para o cenário desse trabalho dados secundários como as cartas pessoais do Conde do Pinhal, quem fundou, em 1857, a cidade de São Carlos, nos sertões da Província de São Paulo. Parto dessa referência, o Conde do Pinhal, que escreve para Anna Carolina (Naninha), sua esposa, pois são pessoas da elite, de condição social nobre e escolaridade supostamente1 avançada, e observo até que ponto seria possível associar a forma do uso dos pronomes pessoais dos meus informantes à condição de sua escolaridade. Por meio desses dados e de resultados de pesquisas que tratam do sistema pronominal do PB, busco refletir sobre como o uso dos pronomes pessoais se manifesta de modo comum nas variedades do português brasileiro padrão e não-padrão. / This research work presents the achievements for an unreleased corpus with personal letters written in Bahia during 1940s in XX century. From that corpus social aspects were joined together which tell us the region history as well as were observed linguistics aspects which characterize the informers\' dialectic and represents characteristics of Brazilian Portuguese - \"PB\". Among the linguistics phenomena observed in the corpus and represents dialectic particularities, the personal pronouns highlight themselves with significant registers. This reason motivated and defined the object of research of this work: the personal pronouns. I present a select of data which join the effective usages of the personal pronouns the corpus and I observe them from a pattern of an empiric analysis with quantitative and qualitative approaches. I also bring to this work scenery personal other data as Conde do Pinhal\'s personal letters who founded São Carlos town in 1857, in the \"sertões\" of São Paulo. Conde do Pinhal writes to his wife, Ana Carolina, they are noble, wealthy and well-educated people and then I observe that up to what level is possible to associate the usage of personal pronouns of my informers to the condition of their education. Through these aspects and the results of the research that studies the system of the pronouns of PB, aims to reflect about as the usage of personal pronouns shows themselves in an usual way in the variations of the Brazilian Portuguese standard and non-standard.

Nesta dissertação apresentam-se aspectos morfossintáticos dos pronomes pessoais em anaan, uma língua nigero-congolesa, pertencente ao grupo ibom, falada pelo povo anaan - um grupo étnico homogêneo, com cerca de 1 milhão de pessoas, localizado ao norte do Estado de Akwa Ibom, Nigéria. Trata-se de uma língua em fase inicial de investigação lingüística - os poucos trabalhos de referência em anaan são de ordem fonético/fonológica, sem análises morfossintáticas atestadas até então. O trabalho, inserido em uma abordagem de estudos tipológicos, visa à descrição e análise dos pronomes pessoais livres e dos marcadores pronominais da língua anaan. Apresentam-se, ainda, aspectos da morfossintaxe relacionados ao sistema pronominal: (i) as classes de palavras nome e verbo, (ii) a estrutura do sintagma nominal com ênfase nas construções genitivas e (iii) alguns aspectos sobre a ordem da língua. Quanto aos pronomes livres, propõe-se que anaan possui formas distintas para a posição de sujeito e de objeto, sendo que os pronomes que ocupam a posição de sujeito constituem o modificador das construções genitivas na língua. Neste estudo investiga-se também a natureza funcional dos marcadores pronominais e o traço de referencialidade dos pronomes. / In this dissertation I present the morphosyntax aspects of the personal pronouns in Anaang, a Niger-Congo language, belonging to the Ibom group, spoken by the Anaang people. Anaang is a homogeneous ethnic group, with approximately 1 million people, located in the north of Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria. The Anaang language is the beginning of its linguistic investigation - there are a few reference studies about the phonetics and phonology in Anaang, and no morphosyntactic studies verified up to the moment. This work, inserted in a typological approach, aims at the description and the analysis of the free personal pronouns in the Anaang language. And also presenting aspects of the morphosyntax that are related to the pronominal system: (i) the word classes noun and verb, (ii) the structure of the noun phrase focusing on the genitive constructions, and (iii) some aspects of the order in that language. Considering the free pronouns, I propose that Anaang has different forms for the object and subject positions, and that the pronouns that take the subject position constitute the modifier of the genitive constructions in the language. In this research, the functional nature of the pronominal markers and the referential features of the pronouns are also been investigated.

Nesta dissertação apresentam-se aspectos morfossintáticos dos pronomes pessoais em anaan, uma língua nigero-congolesa, pertencente ao grupo ibom, falada pelo povo anaan - um grupo étnico homogêneo, com cerca de 1 milhão de pessoas, localizado ao norte do Estado de Akwa Ibom, Nigéria. Trata-se de uma língua em fase inicial de investigação lingüística - os poucos trabalhos de referência em anaan são de ordem fonético/fonológica, sem análises morfossintáticas atestadas até então. O trabalho, inserido em uma abordagem de estudos tipológicos, visa à descrição e análise dos pronomes pessoais livres e dos marcadores pronominais da língua anaan. Apresentam-se, ainda, aspectos da morfossintaxe relacionados ao sistema pronominal: (i) as classes de palavras nome e verbo, (ii) a estrutura do sintagma nominal com ênfase nas construções genitivas e (iii) alguns aspectos sobre a ordem da língua. Quanto aos pronomes livres, propõe-se que anaan possui formas distintas para a posição de sujeito e de objeto, sendo que os pronomes que ocupam a posição de sujeito constituem o modificador das construções genitivas na língua. Neste estudo investiga-se também a natureza funcional dos marcadores pronominais e o traço de referencialidade dos pronomes. / In this dissertation I present the morphosyntax aspects of the personal pronouns in Anaang, a Niger-Congo language, belonging to the Ibom group, spoken by the Anaang people. Anaang is a homogeneous ethnic group, with approximately 1 million people, located in the north of Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria. The Anaang language is the beginning of its linguistic investigation - there are a few reference studies about the phonetics and phonology in Anaang, and no morphosyntactic studies verified up to the moment. This work, inserted in a typological approach, aims at the description and the analysis of the free personal pronouns in the Anaang language. And also presenting aspects of the morphosyntax that are related to the pronominal system: (i) the word classes noun and verb, (ii) the structure of the noun phrase focusing on the genitive constructions, and (iii) some aspects of the order in that language. Considering the free pronouns, I propose that Anaang has different forms for the object and subject positions, and that the pronouns that take the subject position constitute the modifier of the genitive constructions in the language. In this research, the functional nature of the pronominal markers and the referential features of the pronouns are also been investigated.