Cette thèse pose la question du travail des examinateurs au travers des classifications britannique et française de films : au Royaume-Uni, le BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) est l’institution en charge de la classification des films ; en France, c’est la Commission de Classification des Œuvres cinématographiques qui s’en occupe. La problématique de ce sujet est : comment les pratiques des examinateurs et les évolutions sociales et institutionnelles ont façonné la création et le développement d’un critère langage au sein des systèmes de classification britannique et français ? En effet, selon les stéréotypes, ces classifications sont généralement mises en opposition : le BBFC est présenté comme une machine à compter les jurons, alors que la classification française est décrite comme étant libérale. Cette thèse vise à expliquer l’origine de ces stéréotypes et à mettre en lumière la place du critère langage au sein de ces classifications de films. / This thesis wonders about the work of examiners within British and French filmclassifications: in the UK, the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) is theinstitution in charge of film classification; in France, it is the Commission ofClassification of Cinematographic Works. The question here is: how have the work ofexaminers and institutional and societal evolutions shaped the creation and thedevelopment of a language criterion within British and French film classificationsystems? Indeed, stereotypically, those classifications are generally opposed: the BBFC is presented as a swearword-counting system, while the French classification is described as liberal. This thesis aims at explaining the origin of those stereotypes and at highlighting the true place of language within film classifications.

Language and gender is one of the most intriguing and interesting areas in sociolinguistic study. It investigates how men and women (or boys and girls) use language differently in social contexts. Extensive study and research has been carried out in this field, particularly in regard to the English language. Eminent linguists such as Ronald Wardhaugh, David Crystal, Ralph Fasold, and Deborah Tannen have studied varying male-female use of the English language. They have also attempted comparison with other languages and cultures. Wardhaugh, for instance, has studied male-female use of language in English, American-Indian languages (such as Gros Ventre), Asian and Oriental languages (Yukaghir, Japanese) among others, and his findings have become the subject of several of his published works. In their investigations they have found that almost invariably, the way men use language shows them to be socially dominant over women. This persists even in such cases as in the Malagasy language spoken in Madagascar, where men display linguistic characteristics more popularly associated with women and vice versa (Wardhaugh). This paper seeks to determine whether men use language to dominate women among the Kikuyu ethnic group of Kenya, East Africa, to which I belong. Areas such as terms used to refer to men and women, taboo language and language use in marital situations are examined, among others. I also attempt to find out what influence this has had on English spoken in Kenya.

All languages have words that are considered taboo – words that are not supposed to be said or used. Taboo words, or swearwords, can be used in many different ways and they can have different meanings depending on what context they appear in. Another aspect of taboo words is the euphemisms that are used in order to avoid obscene speech. This paper will focus on x-words, words like the f-word or the c-word, which replace the words fuck or cunt, but as the study will show they also have other meanings and usages. The purpose of this paper is also to investigate the significance of taboo words and their usage in English, as well as research on how they are used, or not used, in media. The aim is to examine how x-words are used in the British newspapers the Guardian and the Observer by using corpus searches. The results show that there are several ways of using x-words, and that using them in order to show that a word either is taboo, or has become taboo in a certain context, is the most common way. It is also clear that x-words can represent many different words, and not only words that are generally considered taboo.

This study was conducted in order to understand Grade 10 Life Science teachers’ perceptions and experiences of teaching human reproduction topics in the Ohangwena political region in the northern part of Namibia. It also explored how the culture of the majority of the inhabitants of Ohangwena region who are Oshiwambo speaking impacts the teaching of human reproduction topics. The study was prompted by the fact that the Grade 10 Life Science syllabus requires learners to learn details of human reproduction although in Oshiwambo culture such things are not discussed openly. And this section has proven to be one of the poorly answered sections in the Grade 10 national examinations. A total of thirty five (35) Grade 10 Life Science teachers participated in this study. It is a qualitative case study underpinned by an interpretive paradigm. The unit of analysis for this study was teachers’ perceptions and experiences of teaching the topic of human reproduction. Data were generated through document analysis, questionnaires and tape recorded semi-structured interviews. Such data were analysed inductively by sorting them into categories and then into emerging themes. Categories included teachers’ views and experiences of being taught and teaching human reproduction, how culture influenced the manner in which teaching and learning of human reproduction takes place as stated in the socio-cultural theory, and how teachers of different gender perceived and experienced the teaching of human reproduction according to the feminist standpoint theory. The emerging themes were colour coded and then developed into analytical statements. Data triangulation, member checking, and follow up interviews ensured data validity and trustworthiness. This study revealed that the cultural belief of the Owambo people that prohibits adults to talk to children about things related to sex because it encourages them to practice sex is still strong among individuals in the community including teachers themselves. As a result, teachers are not comfortable with teaching human reproduction topics. From the findings, it is recommended that teachers should be empowered to teach Life Science, specifically human reproduction topics, with confidence. Furthermore, parents should be made aware of the importance of including human reproduction topics in the school curriculum so that they can motivate their children to study it with an open mind.

(in English) Thesis is focused on issues of cannibalism as an almost universal cultural construct, which we can find across all the world cultures.Particularly it focuses on imaginary man- eating creatures in international folklore and mythology. The work constitutes of four parts. First part is introduction of theoretical-methodological conceptual background, second part forms author's own typological classification of anthropophagi based on materials accessed from universal folklore indexes . Third part is short probing questionnaire research concentrated on a specific type of anthropophagi - boogeyman. The last part, conclusion, summarizes gathered data and provides possibilities of future research. The objective of this work is comprehensive classification of anthropophagus beings according to their type. Based on this classification it is possible to track occurrences of anthropophagi in contemporary folk narratives documented in actual oral transmission and compare it with international parallels.

In Zimbabwe, translation studies is yet to be recognized as a discipline worthy of study in its own right, hence, not much research has been carried out into the theory and practice of translation. Furthermore, there is no tertiary institution that offers professional translation courses. In light of this information most translations are carried out by untrained/partially trained translators with only a few translators who have gained experience over time. The aim of this study was to investigate strategies used by Ndebele translators in the translation of specialized terms and cultural taboos in selected HIV/AIDS texts, as well as factors that can be used to improve the translation situation of Zimbabwe. Three main theoretical approaches were used in a complementary fashion, namely Descriptive Translation Studies (DTS), Cultural Studies and Corpus-based Translation Studies (CTS). DTS provided the researcher with a theory to understand the Ndebele translations in their wider environment; Cultural Studies provided the researcher with the means by which to understand Ndebele culture and taboos; Corpus-based Translation Studies (CTS) provided the researcher with the methodological tools and analytical techniques to analyse the corpus of texts. An English-Ndebele Parallel Corpus (ENPC) was created using fourteen English source texts and their corresponding Ndebele translations. The ENPC was interrogated by means of ParaConc, a parallel concordancing program. The study found that when translating specialised terms, Ndebele translators used strategies such as a general or neutral word, cultural substitution, paraphrasing and omission. The strategy of omission was misused in most cases because Ndebele translators omitted valuable information which did not reach the target readers. With regards to translation strategies that contributed to term creation, it was found that Ndebele translators relied on external as well as internal resources. The translators used strategies such as pure loan words; pure loan words preceeded by an explanation and indigenised loan words. From the Ndebele language itself, the translators resorted to semantic shift, compounding, coinage and paraphrasing, among others. From the ENPC it is clear that Ndebele translators did manage to transfer the message from English to Ndebele to an extent. However, the ENPC has to be used with caution by other researchers since the translations included in the corpus are full of errors such as misinterpretations of the source texts, mistranslations, incorrect terms and incorrect orthography. This factor points to a dire need to establish translation as an academic discipline and profession in Zimbabwe so as to elevate the quality of translations and offer better translation services to all users.

Detta är en studie vars syfte ämnar till att undersöka vilken roll vårdpersonal har i att ge de äldre möjligheter till sexualitet under tiden de är boende på äldreboende samt hur de arbetar med äldres sexualitet. Vår ambition är att ta reda på hur vårdpersonal bemöter och arbetar med frågor som rör de äldres sexualitet samt vilka förutsättningar det finns för intimitet på äldreboenden. För att utforska detta valde vi att genomföra semistrukturerade kvalitativa intervjuer med vårdpersonal yrkesverksamma vid ett antal olika äldreboenden i Stockholm med omnejd. Den insamlade empirin har därefter analyserats med hjälp av Pierre Bourdieus teori om fält och doxa.                       Studiens huvudresultat visar att äldres sexualitet ses som en ickefråga och att frågan därför inte aktivt arbetas med. Studien visar även att det går att lokalisera en rådande doxa på det här fältet som i sin tur påverkar vårdpersonalens bemötande. Vårdpersonal ser äldres sexualitet som privat och undviker därför gärna att prata om det. Eftersom vårdpersonal har denna syn påverkar det även vilka anpassningar det görs i den fysiska miljön för att äldre ska kunna uppleva intimitet och fysisk närhet. Slutligen visar studien att för att kunna bemöta och arbeta med frågor rörande sexualitet måste vårdpersonal ha relevant kunskap vilket vidareutbildning inom sexologi skulle kunna ge. / The purpose of this study is to investigate what role nursing staff have in providing the elderly with opportunities for sexuality while living in retirement homes and how they work issues regarding the sexuality of older people. Our ambition is to find out how nursing staff respond to and deal with issues related to elderly people's sexuality and which possibilities for intimacy there is in retirement homes. To investigate this, we chose to conduct semi-structured qualitative interviews with nursing staff at a number of different retirement homes in Stockholm and surrounding areas. The collected data has then been analyzed using Pierre Bourdieu's theory of field and doxa.                       The study's main findings show that elderly people's sexuality is seen as a non-question and therefore not a subject nursing staff actively work with. The study also shows that a prevailing doxa can be located in this field, which in turn affects the treatment given by nursing staff. Nursing staff see elderly people's sexuality as something private and therefore avoids talking about it. Because nursing staff have this view, it also influences what adjustments are made in the physical environment in order for the elderly to experience intimacy and physical proximity. Finally, the study shows that in order to respond to and work with issues related to sexuality, nursing staff must have relevant knowledge which further education in sexology could provide.

MA (Xitsonga) / Senthara ya M.E.R. Mathivha ya Tindzimu ta Afrika, Vutshila ni Ndhvuko / The study examines the taboos of death and their significance in the context of Xitsonga culture in the Hlanganani Area of the Vhembe District, Limpopo Province of South Africa. The study deals with social taboos pertaining to death and how Vatsonga perceive their dead. The principal aim of the study is to highlight the significance of taboos pertaining to death, the burial and the post-burial rites/rituals amongst Vatsonga in the Hlanganani Area. The study guarantees the continuity and resilience of the post-burial rituals. Accordingly, the study shows that the taboos are largely reflected through language. The study will recommend that the taboos as the important components of Xitsonga culture must be incorporated in the South African education system. More importantly, the study shows that language and culture are interlinked and cannot be separated. The researcher will employ the Renaissance Theory. The Renaissance Theory argues that a number of indigenous cultural identities, values and norms which used to be functional for society in the past can still be used today if properly utilised because they are the building blocks of indigenous existentiality. It is an emerging postcolonial philosophy which envisions reclaiming the glories of the African past. It posits that to think of the African life is to think of the unity of the shared perennial communitarian values. Data will collected through interviews and focus groups.

This essay presents a study on gender differences with a focus on swearing and taboo language, based on findings from the BNC1994 and the BNC2014. Bitch and cunt are two words that are linked to the female gender, but previous research has shown that they are used differently by men and women. The usage of the words differs in terms of frequency, but it has also been suggested that men and women tend to differ in the way they aim their usage of the words, whether the usage is directed toward men or women. The aim of the study is to analyse both corpora in order to find out how the usage of the words differs between men and women in different age categories, and how it has changed across time. Previous research on swearing, in connection to gender and age, is presented as well as a historical background of the words. The results show that the usage of bitch has increased but the usage of cunt has decreased. However, there are findings in the results that show that in addition to the change in frequency there has also been a change regarding how men and women tend to aim their usage of the words. Hopefully, the findings in this study could shed more light on the topic on gender differences and swearing.

The thesis entitled Sensitive topics in childhood and youth literature deals with one of the main tendencies of contemporary Francophone literature for children and youth, which is the inclusion of sensitive topics in children's books. The thesis tries to find answers to these questions: Since when did these topics start to appear in children's and youth's literature? Which topics do we consider sensitive? How do the authors handle these difficult topics and what is their place and objective in children's literature? The introduction of the thesis generally outlines the specifics and functions of literature for children and youth and subsequently tries to answer the defined questions. As such, the introduction is followed by the chapters examining the history of the children and youth genre, taboo and sensitive topics in children's literature, which will help answer these questions. The thesis carefully focuses on the topics of death, illness and disability, racism and diversity and difficult family situations such as divorce, adoption or homoparentality.