<p> Video games represent the future of storytelling, changing the impact of cultural narratives in important ways through a process of learning and internalization of game content that alters players&rsquo; perceptions of self and reality. Continued rigorous research of interactive media is necessary because of the speed at which technology changes its capabilities and the dominant nature of its format&mdash;it is how many people will tell, hear, and experience stories, culture, and values in the coming years. This dissertation argues that a deeper understanding of how people play video games and what these play experiences mean must rely on interdisciplinary lenses of analysis that value player reports, programming choices, and cultural narratives equally. I establish a theoretical and methodological approach that defines elements of what it means to play video games, and study the qualitative influence of game-play on thought and behavior through pragmatic analysis of interview data. Samples of masculine discourses of game play in the United States provide a starting point for this exploration of video game impact through discussions of play theory, narratology, game programming and interaction with interactive media hardware.</p><p> Common social concerns regarding increased violence, aggression, or de-socialization as a result of this medium were not represented in the population presented in this dissertation. Players recognized the allure of the so-called negative aspects of video games, but ultimately expressed a decided disconnect between the real world and virtual experiences of play, describing cathartic and therapeutic reasons for their enjoyment of those elements. An interdisciplinary approach to video game research must be embraced, despite a constant call for quick, universal answers to their most common critiques. Foundational themes for understanding the influence of interactive digital play experiences on personal identity and ideology construction are demonstrated through thematic and sociolinguistic analyses of in-depth interview data. These include play theory, narratology, human-computer interaction theory, and player report data. I draw on the established theoretical backgrounds of these disciplines to suggest a new term, ergodic ontogeny, to describe this complex process of personal development resulting from influences of interactive digital media gaming that reach beyond play experiences.</p>

<p> From <i>silva dimes</i> to <i>po-boys</i>, r-lessness has long been a conspicuous feature of all dialects of New Orleans English. This dissertation presents a quantitative and qualitative description of current rates of r-lessness in the city. 71 speakers from 21 neighborhoods were interviewed. Rpronunciation was elicited in four contexts: interview chat, Katrina narratives, a reading passage and a word list. R-lessness was found in 39% of possible instances. Older speakers pronounce /-r/ less than younger speakers, and those with a high school education or less pronounce /-r/ far less than those with post-secondary education. Race and gender did not prove to be significant predictors of r-pronunciation. In contrast to past studies, many speakers in the current study discuss their metalinguistic awareness of /-r/ and their partial control of /-r/ variation, discussing switching between r-fulness and r-lessness in different contexts. </p><p> In New Orleans, this metalinguistic awareness is attributable in part to the devastation following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when the near-disappearance of the city intensified an already extant nostalgia for local culture, including ways of speaking. Nostalgia and amplification by advertisers and popular media have helped recontextualize r-lessness as a variable associated with a number of social meanings, including localness and authenticity. These processes help transform r-lessness, for many speakers, from a routine feature of talk to a floating cultural variable, serving as a semiotic resource on which speakers can draw on to perform localness. </p><p> This dissertation both closes a gap in research on New Orleans speech and uses New Orleans as a case study to suggest that the social meanings of linguistic features are created and maintained in part by a constellation of interrelated social processes of late modernity. Further, I argue that individual speakers are increasingly agentively engaged with these larger processes, as part of a global transformation from more traditional, place-bound populations to more deracinated individuals who choose to align themselves with particular communities and local cultural forms, particularly those that have been commodified.</p>

This study compares traditional methods of sociolinguistic analysis to Milroy's (1987) theory of social network analysis to analyze language maintenance and shift (LMLS) in a group of 127 Afro-Costa Rican women in two bilingual (Spanish-English) communities, Puerto Limon and Siquirres, in the province of Limon, Costa Rica Since the publication of Milroy's work, a more recent trend has been to determine whether relationships among individuals exert normative pressures that affect their choice to maintain or alter the standard linguistic practices of their community. This study situates itself within this trend and so attempts to determine whether social network organization explains LMLS better than traditional methods of sociolinguistic analysis This objective is accomplished by applying each approach to analyze LMLS of the English spoken by the sample of Afro-Costa Rican women and their maintenance of four Creole phonological variables. The traditional sociolinguistic method of analysis is implemented by the examination of data collected through a questionnaire, complemented by interviews. Milroy's theory is implemented by delineating the network structure of the participants through the types of relations that bind them in order to define a measure of multiplexity and thus centrality. Both approaches were also applied to the examination of phonological variables based on the narration of 104 (of the 127) women of a picture story-task The data suggest that traditional sociolinguistic analysis is more reliable in explaining factors associated with LMLS than the social network approach. The latter did not prove useful in explaining patterns of language behavior as norm enforcement mechanisms in the maintenance of the linguistic practices of the members in the network Neither traditional methods of sociolinguistic analysis nor the social network model were associated with the maintenance of the phonological features of the Creole variety / acase@tulane.edu

While past research in the highland Kaqchikel Maya communities of the Quinizilapa Valley foresaw a language death scenario for this valley among the current youth generation, my research defies these predictions through the observed use and increasingly robust forecast for Kaqchikel among succeeding generations. This research articulates the relationship between the growth of positive language affect and the appearance of an age-grade language model in the Quinizilapa Valley. Positive affect stems from individual language ideologies, economic incentive for learning Kaqchikel, the influence of pan-Maya ideologies on language, and generational shifts in the beliefs about language in relation to changes in the larger social system of Guatemala. By connecting these variables with quantitative data on language use, this research goes beyond past work on language ideology and linguistic affect, demonstrating language use is increasingly interconnected with specific social domains, economic spheres of interaction, and personal beliefs about Kaqchikel language and culture. The apparent increase in fluency over time among older generations in the Quinizilapa Valley is a generational change in the process of language learning in the valley, leading to the establishment of a new pattern of age-graded transmission of Kaqchikel, thereby promoting language maintenance and revitalization in these communities. While children are not necessarily learning Kaqchikel as their first language in the household, interaction in institutional and community-specific domains such as education, traditional religious lay organizations, emblematic usage of Kaqchikel in town festivals, and the active promotion of language by individuals, the state, and NGOs in the communities are contributing to increasing fluency in Kaqchikel, creating an alternative means to past generational transmission. It is probable that a portion of the population will continue to vary in the use and transmission of Kaqchikel; however, a significant segment of the population is gradually reversing this trend. This research encompasses the complexities of research through an analysis of the emergence of a new, integrative model of linguistic and cultural maintenance and revitalization in these communities / acase@tulane.edu

Postsocialist Eastern Europe is one region where economic restructurings coincide with state-building processes, both of which lead to a reordering of national values and a redefining of national identity. The former USSR continues to be a reference point for adults in western Ukraine as they make sense of ongoing uncertainties. The generation born after socialism and Ukraine's independence in 1991, however, has learned what life was like before it was transformed only through the accounts of others. As a result, the way these young people relate to the cultural, political, and economic elements associated with socialism and postsocialism are not the same as what the older generation expects of them. / Drawing upon ethnographic and linguistic data collected over sixteen months at two public schools in western Ukraine, this research examines how space and time work in concert to allow young people in contemporary Ukraine to make sense of the world they live in. Specifically, I apply Bakhtin's notion of the chronotope, a space-time association that underlies people's experiences and conceptions of personhood, to contend that teenagers draw upon multiple linkages between space and time in order to position themselves among their peers, within their local communities, and towards the wider global community. / My analysis suggests that teenagers position themselves in relation to different social identities by constructing multiple chronotopes of tradition and modernity. Specifically, I examine how these space-time associations underlie teenagers' attitudes towards out-migration, language use and linguistic variability. These chronotopes play an important role in how Ukrainian teenagers perceive the differences between the older and younger generations, between rural and urban residents, and between Ukrainians and the rest of the world. In addition, socioeconomic class and differing ideologies of language influence how space and time are valued within these dichotomous relationships. / An investigation such as this suggests that everyday encounters with change are only one way in which social transformation is experienced. People also draw upon space and time in order to contextualize change and understand its effect on their lives, an integral facet of experience that extends beyond any particular historical event or rupture.

<p> There have been many debates on how and why English has spread worldwide. As a local case of the phenomenon, this study investigates the spread of English in the Japanese speech community in the framework of World English and macroacquisition (Brutt-Griffler, 2002) while also using dialogism (Bakhtin, 1981; Holquist, 2002) and the theory of value (Makiguchi, 1981-88) to analyze the data. The study examines the reasons for and the mechanisms of the spread of English and discusses educational implications of the phenomenon in Japan. In carrying out its research objectives, the study investigates the perceptions about English among English teachers, students, parents, the government policy makers, and the business world and reveals how their voices have interacted with one another and have become a force to promote English. </p><p> This dissertation employs a case study as its methodological approach by drawing data from the analysis of policy documents that sheds light on the historical development and implementation of English language policy in Japan; equally it analyzes the data from semi-structured interviews and questionnaire surveys with the subjects to uncover the contemporary narrative of English language use in Japan. The data obtained from each group of participants are interpreted in a cohesive manner so that the interaction of the multiple voices is represented. </p><p> The study shows that there are two principal forces that have promoted English at least since the early 1990s in the Japanese speech community: one of them is the performative and academic motives among the subjects in higher education. The second force that propels English pertains to what I call the discourses of "English will be important in the future." </p><p> The findings of the study provide an insight into one of the local cases of the worldwide spread of English. The understanding of how this local situation does or does not fit into the overall worldwide phenomena contributes to our understanding of World English, a larger body of knowledge on the worldwide spread of English.</p>

<p> L'&eacute;tude pr&eacute;sente se contre sur la question identitaire aux sujets de la langue et de la culture cadienne au sud de la paroisse Lafourche ; un paroisse du sud-est de la Louisiane. Donnant qu'il y avait peu de recherches venant de cette r&eacute;gion de la Louisiane fran&ccedil;aise, cela serait in&eacute;ressant de voir des avis aux sujets de la langue et la culture cadiennes de vue des gens de cette petite partie.</p><p> Des questionnaires a &eacute;t&eacute; distribu&eacute;s aux lyc&eacute;ens de South Lafourche High School, et des entrevues a &eacute;t&eacute; faits avec des locuteurs natifs du fran&ccedil;ais cadien de la meme r&eacute;gion. </p><p> Avec les r&eacute;sultats, l'auteure examine les r&eacute;ponses des questionnaires des jeunes lyc&eacute;ens et les r&eacute;ponses des entrevues avec les locuteurs du fran&ccedil;ais cadien sont consid&eacute;r&eacute;es s&eacute;par&eacute;ment. Aussi, les r&eacute;ponses des deux groupes sont consid&eacute;r&eacute;es ensemble pour trouver s'il y a des similarit&eacute;s ou des diff&eacute;rences.</p><p> Ce projet cherche de parler des sujets ou de r&eacute;pondre aux questions suivants : Pour les jeunes, Quel est leur niveau de contact avec le fran&ccedil;ais hors de la salle de classe, et Quel est le role du fran&ccedil;ais dans leur vie ? Quelles id&eacute;es et quelles connaissances ils ont du fran&ccedil;ais cadien ? Quels sont les aspects saillants de l'identit&eacute; et de la culture cadiennes pour ces lyc&eacute;ens ?</p><p> Pour les locuteurs natifs de fran&Atilde;&sect;ais cadien, quel est le role du fran&ccedil;ais dans leur vie pr&eacute;sente et pass&eacute;e ? Quels sont les aspects de l'identit&eacute; et de la culture cadiennes qu'ils trouvent le plus importants ? Et qu'est-ce que ces locuteurs pensent de l'enseignement du fran&ccedil;ais par rapport aux plus jeunes g&eacute;n&eacute;rations de la r&eacute;gion ?</p>

<p> Stuttering is a disorder that can be defined in terms of speech characteristics, physical concomitants, emotions, perceptions, and quality of life (Bloodstein &amp; Bernstein Ratner, 2008; Tetnowski &amp; Scaler Scott, 2009; Bennett, 2006). The current literature focuses on describing bilingual stuttering in terms of bilingualism being a cause; linguistic characteristics; and manifestations of stuttering across languages. While standardized measures and definitions of these factors will allow for generalization across studies (Roberts, 2011), they will not provide a holistic picture of the bilingual stuttering experience. This study uses analytic tools grounded in the theory of Systemic Functional Linguistics (Halliday &amp; Matthiessen, 2004) to investigate how four bilingual people who stutter construct their stuttering experiences. Specifically, this study examines the linguistic choices participants made while engaged in conversations about their stuttering. Considering the highly individualistic and multidimensional nature of the phenomenon being examined, a case study approach was adopted to account for the diversity of characteristics and individualized experiences described by each of the four participants in this study. It is through the analysis of their talk that this study provides insight on the affective and cognitive aspects of the bilingual stuttering experience, which have clinical implications for the development of appropriate, meaningful and effective fluency intervention for the "whole" bilingual who stutters.</p>

<p>Many people, organizations, institutions, and governments want and need to generate creative breakthroughs and foster creativity, but are not aware of what conversational conditions make their occurrence more likely. The creative collaborative process is dependent upon communication. There have been few studies that have analyzed in situ group creativity with a robust communication theory capable of showing what actual kinds of conversations create new and useful meaning. The purpose of this research was to identify conversational conditions that facilitate creative breakthroughs in collaborative workgroups. </p><p> A case study is presented of a 4-month creative collaboration between members of a design consultancy and a senior university design class tasked with designing 21^st century communication products for a well-known greeting-card company client. The research design utilized a social constructionist communication theory, the coordinated management of meaning, (CMM). Creative breakthrough moments were identified in three different interactions from questionnaires and videotaped data. Reflective interviews of all the participants also enabled insight into the creative breakthrough moments and the narrative process that developed new meaning. The videotaped conversational patterns that produced those creative breakthrough moments were then recursively examined and analyzed with conversational analysis, CMM research methodology, and figurative language. Six specific conversational conditions were discerned as present in creative breakthrough emergence. </p><p> A reflexive pattern of critique, relationship, responsibility, idea generation, and reframing authorship enabled participants to co-evolve design narratives that made new meaning. Creative breakthroughs and new creative meaning emerged from an improvisational structure of six specific conversational conditions. By participating within this improvisational structure, group members utilized critique as a creative springboard for innovation and took fresh perspectives. These findings are counter to the dominant themes in design and sociocultural literature that nonjudgmental conditions, brainstorming, and individuals building on input are the main pathways for creativity. </p><p> <i>Key Words</i>: Creative breakthrough, conversational conditions, facilitate, in vivo collaborative workgroups, relational responsibility moves, new meaning-making, improvisational language structure, figurative language, CMM, social constructionist communication theory, creative and generous listening, creative collaboration </p>

<p> In the current global business environment many endeavors are undertaken as projects. Translation, localization and other language services are no exception and must be viewed and studied as services performed in a projectized environment. If they are not, there will continue to be gaps between the way translation is taught and researched (as an isolated activity) and how it is performed in the business world (as part of projects). The existence of these gaps not only prevents translation practitioners from recognizing and communicating the value of the service that they provide, but also diminishes the value of the training that future translators receive. Lack of understanding of the context in which translation is performed limits the opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation between translation studies and other disciplines in the academic environment, and between organizations and divisions within a given organization in the business environment. </p><p> This study proposes to contribute to the research on translation in project contexts by examining risk management, which is an important area of focus for organizations and professionals in many sectors, but which is largely ignored in the language industry. </p><p> This study first provides an overview of the language industry, explores key concepts, such as risk, uncertainty, project management, risk management and maturity model, and explains the role and relevance of risk management in the language industry. It then reviews existing risk management frameworks developed by project management and risk management practitioners, including the framework developed by the Project Management Institute (PMI). Next, a model of risk sources developed specifically for application in translation and localization projects is presented and discussed. The theoretical discussion is followed by a case study in which PMI's project risk management framework is implemented and the proposed model of risk sources is applied in a real-world translation company. The description of the case study methodology is followed by observations of how the study was carried out and by a presentation and analysis of the results of the case study. The dissertation concludes by offering recommendations based on the findings of the case study and by examining possible future avenues of research.</p>