Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1967. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 183-200).

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This thesis will focus on the changes that modernization, especially during the transition period from communism to capitalism, brought to the use of the terms “domn” (sir) and “doamna” (lady) in Romania. The main question of the research will be whether these terms are still used and if they are used with the same meaning as they were before: in short, what does it mean to be ‘lady” or “sir” in modern Romania? The thesis will try to examine the way modern life lessened the differences between country side/rural life and town/urban life and between people with different educational levels. In Romania little research has been done examining how modernization affects everyday life and how individuals view and understand the world. Modernization is a key word in almost every field in Romania today, but the human dimension especially that of everyday life has not received much attention. The thesis will try to give a perspective on how the recent social transformations have changed the way people view themselves and the opportunities that developed as a result. Romania is an East European country in transition. This means that among other things that for Romanians things seem to change rapidly and sometimes abruptly in very short time, often without much sense or logic. The result is that Romanians have had to learn how to adapt very quickly and to learn new social and material skills almost every day. Romania and her passage from socialism to capitalism can be a laboratory for anthropological research on some of the disciplines central and emerging themes. Among these is how the elite is self constructed and self selected over time. Another is the role that shifts in elites can play in a country’s and a culture’s economic and cultural transitions. This research will also add to the literature on Romania because while elite’s effects, both positive and negative have received much media attention, the scholarly literature is almost silent in how elites are defined and emerged since 1989. The study of the elites will also bring a better understanding of the way people in Romania behave, understand and accept each other. It will also help us to understand their goals and how these got defined in this transition period in Romania’s history. Looking at how Romanians think about (categorize) each other will also help the rest of the world understand Romanian culture and society. This is important - especially for those inside and outside the country who have a stake in Romania’s future. / Romania, past and present : a historical and social background of status in Romania -- Status in Romania 2011 : fieldwork results -- Ideas over how status is perceived in present Romania. / Department of Anthropology

This study examines style shift between formal and informal styles in first- encounter conversations between Japanese native speakers and demonstrates how the speakers shifted the speech style in the context. Many researchers have studied this type of style shift and demonstrated that style shifts occur within a single speech context where social factors, such as differences in age, status, and formalness remain constant (e.g., Cook, 2008; Geyer, 2008; Ikuta, 1983; Maynard, 1991; Okamoto, 1999). This study contributed support to these previous studies. In this study, both quantitative and qualitative analyses focusing on Japanese native speakers' use of style shifting in first-encounter conversations were conducted. The data came from four dyadic first-encounter conversations between Japanese female speakers. The conversations were audio-recorded in a room where the researcher was not present. After recording the four conversations, the researcher conducted follow-up interviews in person or by phone in order to check the validity of my analysis collected for this study. Overall, all the speakers shifted between formal and informal styles at least ten times, indicating that they did not speak exclusively in one style or the other in the current data. The frequency of style shifts varied depending on the speakers, but in each conversation, the older partners of the pairs shifted their speech style more frequently than the younger partners of the pairs. Furthermore, this study found six factors that accounted for style shifts between the formal and informal. When (1) introducing a new topic and (2) closing a topic, speakers shifted from informal to formal style. This signaled the opening of a new topic directly to the addressee. On the other hand, they shifted from formal style to informal style when (1) expressing feelings, (2) using self-directed utterances, (3) asking questions for confirmation or inference, and (4) adjusting to the context (formality and/or deference). The follow-up interviews revealed that the factors referred to as (1) expression of feelings, (2) self-directed utterances, and (3) questions for confirmation or inference were used by some speakers unconsciously. The self- directed utterances of factor (2) were divided into three types: soliloquy-like remarks, asking oneself a question, and recalling something. Factor (4) adjusting to the context (formality and/or deference), formal style was used to show politeness toward the addressee, and informal style was used to show friendliness, casualness, or empathy. Friendliness, casualness, or empathy was conveyed by use of informal style when the speakers' utterances brought laughter to the context and/or when the speakers showed empathy for the addressee.

The subjective reactions of listeners from various backgrounds to speech varieties used in Medellin, Colombia, were investigated using the matched-guise technique with a series of measuring scales. In all three dimensions of a semantic differential scale-namely, competence, personal integrity, and social attractiveness-Non-Antioqueno Dialect (NAD) speakers were rated significantly higher than Antioqueno Dialect (AD) speakers regardless of the sex or the dialect of the subject, or the sex of the speaker. In the case of social attractiveness, however, for female subjects the difference between NAD speakers and AD speakers was somewhat larger than for the male subjects.The evaluations of male speakers were significantly higher than those of female speakers regardless of the sex of the subject, the dialect of the subject, or the dialect of the speaker. For AD subjects the difference in ratings between male and female speakers was about the same for male and female subjects; however, for NAD female subjects this difference was somewhat larger than for the NAD male subjects.In general, the evaluations of speakers by different age groups indicated a significant difference, between older and younger subjects. The younger subjects rated speakers significantly lower. than the older subjects did for all three variables of evaluation, that is, competence, personal integrity and social attractiveness.While no significant effect was found for socio-economic status (SES) non the variables of personal integrity and social attractiveness, SES was found to have a significant effect on evaluations of competence. In this dimension of evaluation, lowermiddle class subjects rated speakers significantly differently from the middle-middle class and the upper-middle class subjects. The former ranked speakers higher on competence than the middle-middle class and the upper-middle class subjects did.Finally, subjects assigned prestigious professions to NAD speakers, while only non-prestigious occupations were matched with the AD speakers. Additionally, the proportion of times male speakers were judged to have a prestigious occupation was significantly higher than the proportion of times female speakers were judged so.Within the theoretical framework of this study, differential reactions to the guises assumed by the speakers were interpreted as revealing differential attitudes towards the speech varieties. The evaluations are taken to be attitudes not only toward the speakers themselves, but also toward the language forms of the varieties involved. / Department of English

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 196-204).

Thesis (doctoral)--Université Paul Valéry, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 361-380) and index.