The study investigates the interface between the variables - language attitude and language use in a development context, and attempts to determine the contribution of language to Rwanda's post-conflict development, reconstruction and reconciliation. It examines the language attitudes and language use patterns of 53 students from Rwanda's public universities focusing on how students, who are all Rwandan citizens, view the role of Kinyarwanda, French, English and Kiswahili languages in twelve core areas of post-conflict development. Although post-conflict development is socio-economic, previous historical and political factors affecting Rwanda's violent past play a role as new forms of linguistic categorization - Anglophone and Francophone - emerge which may be used to camouflage previous ethnic categorizations that have had disastrous effects in Rwanda. Further, social categorizations laden with salient features of linguistic identity may influence the implementation of the post-conflict development programmes, and also affect the pace and pattern of reconciliation in Rwanda. Conclusions are based on eclectic sources: quantitative, qualitative, historical and participatory, with patterns of analysis established from secondary and historical data. The study is also grounded in the Communication Accommodation Theory that rests on issues of divergence and convergence during interaction where emerging language identities dovetail with language attitudes and language use, resulting in an interface that influences the implementation of Rwanda's post-conflict development programmes. Additionally, it is argued that the African languages such as Kinyarwanda and Kiswahili, should be considered as vehicles for Rwanda's post-conflict development, although Kinyarwanda, the home language, has in the past really not served an intranational unifying function. On the other hand, Kiswahili, unlike Kinyarwanda, has no divisive myths and identities that would inhibit post-conflict development; it is an important language in the East and Central African region where post-conflict Rwanda will play a positive and active role, and would be a language to be positively developed. / African Languages / D.Litt et Phil. (African Languages)

This thesis examines the competing frameworks in Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita—the fictional Foreword written by John Ray, Jr., Ph.D. and the manuscript written by Humbert Humbert—in order to understand to what extent the construction manipulates the rhetorical appeal. While previous scholarship isolates the two narrators or focuses on their unreliability, my examination concentrates on the interplay of the frameworks and how their conflicting objectives can be problematic for readers. By drawing upon various theories by Michel Foucault from Power/Knowledge and Louis Althusser’s “On Ideology,” I look into how John Ray, Jr., Ph.D. and Humbert Humbert use authoritative voices to directly address readers with a specific duty, as “parents, social workers, educators” and “ladies of the gentleman,” and I question to what extent this can force readers to unwillingly forfeit their authority in order to adopt an alternative disciplinary gaze in pursuit of a premeditated idea of truth and justice. Using the concept of truth and justice, I explore how psychological discourse and the court are made up of ideologies that operate like the Panopticon, and I question where readers fit despite the strong influence exerted on to them by this structure.

Blacks who have descended from the nineteenth century Atlantic slave trade have historically debated and worked to claim a sense of cultural identity that reflects their African heritage and their identity as diasporic. I am particularly interested in how people of the black Atlantic claim their multiple identities since, for people of a diaspora, one main factor is the fact that they inhabit multiple spaces but cannot call any home. How does transnationalism become a better way to describe the cultural identity of those in the "black Atlantic" since these people have to create new or adapted identities as they move from place to place? For Paul Gilroy, the "black Atlantic" applies to people who descended from slaves forced to come to New World (19). In a sense, slavery is a major part of African diasporic history, but I would claim that as time has progressed and people of this lineage came to find homes in the Caribbean, America, and Europe and they have not lost their heritage. Instead, they have retained these identities in a transnational sense. Multiple cultural identities become integrated into each transnational individual, making each person unique to his or her culture without losing sight of his or her common heritage. I explore these identity formations through a close reading of The Butterfly's Way: Voices from the Haitian Dyaspora (sic) in the United States (2001), a collection of short stories, poetry, and personal accounts from Haitian diaspora in the United States, whose stories delve into the issue of transnational identity. The idea of diaspora as read in the text of The Butterfly's Way emphasizes that the more fluid and encompassing terms of hybridity and transnationalism more accurately describe the geographical movements and consequential amassing of black identification within Paul Gilroy's concept of the "black Atlantic." My analysis is supported by a survey of theoretical discourses, particularly those related to black identity. I utilize post-colonial theory while focusing particularly on transnationalism and diasporic studies through Stuart Hall, as well as W.E.B. Du Bois's conception of "double consciousness" to support and develop my argument on how blacks negotiate multiple identities (11). To discuss the formation of a people, I use the work of political theorist Ernesto Laclau, in particular, his arguments in On Populist Reason (2007) on group identity and demand. Gilroy's concept of the "black Atlantic" has many similarities to Laclau’s notion of the "empty signifier" as a way for people to form groups for collective action. I conclude that transnationalism works as better way to describe the black diaspora since black descendants of slaves have retained multiple identities as Africans as well as citizens of their current nations. My paper argues that transnationalism and hybridity function as better terms to describe people who have the Atlantic slave trade in their history.

Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne are arguably two of the most highly read and heavily debated nineteenth-century antebellum authors in America. Their writings fascinate readers, while their character depictions, particularly their characterizations of fictional women, prompt intense academic debate. This thesis examines the previously less-studied historical developments surrounding Poe and Hawthorne in the antebellum era that shaped their approach to writing fiction. In particular, this study scrutinizes the effects of the development of a newly popular art form, ballet, the ascendency of female authorship, and the impact of American theatrical reform upon antebellum authors’ authorial faculties, especially Hawthorne and Poe.

Les chiffres sur la participation et les résultats scolaires sont nettement à l’avantage des filles dans les îles anglophones de la Caraïbe, à l’inverse de ce qui se passe dans les pays dits en voie de développement, à l’exception de l’Amérique latine. L’écart entre les deux sexes est tel qu’une théorie, née il y a une vingtaine d’années, sur la marginalisation des garçons continue à alimenter les débats. En dépit du sentiment que les filles et les femmes sont en passe de prendre le dessus, une analyse de la situation globale de la société caribéenne, révèle la contradiction des inégalités qui persistent à leur détriment, dans le monde économique, professionnel et politique. La situation révèle les limites du rôle de l’éducation mais aussi les failles du système hérité du colonialisme et la valence différentielle des sexes. Les politiques de développement dans la Caraïbe, doivent intégrer la dimension du genre. Elles ne peuvent pas non plus ignorer les perspectives que pourrait lui offrir un leadership féminin en train de s’affirmer. / The Caribbean school system reveals a gender gap in favour of girls and a reverse trend from other developing countries, except in Latin America. Girls outperform boys at all levels in term of academic success as well as attendance, to a point that the boys’ underachievement and under-attendance as well as repetitions at school are of a growing concern for governments in the region and have brought about a controversial theory about the marginalization of boys and men. Despite the general feeling that boys are being threatened by the empowerment of women, a detailed analysis of their situation shows the contradiction of the discrimination women still face locally in the economic, professional and political world. The situation bears evidence to the limitations of education and the failings of a post-colonial system as well as gender differentials. Can Caribbean development policies privilege gender mainstreaming so as to tap the potential of both men and women, while women should be viewed as equal agents of development?

Nesta dissertação, são analisados, via Teoria da Otimidade (MCCARTHY; PRINCE, 1995; PRINCE; SMOLENSKY, 1993), dois aspectos da fonologia do português como segunda língua por aprendizes americanos e britânicos: a ausência de assimilação regressiva de vozeamento envolvendo a fricativa alveolar final em posição de fronteira de palavra e a produção de oclusivas nasais em posição final e de fronteira de palavra. Em inglês, a fricativa alveolar /s/ em coda final diante de segmento sonoro tende a manter seu status de vozeamento subjacente (GIMSON; CRUTTENDEN, 2008; MYERS, 2010; ROCA; JOHNSON, 1999); em contrapartida, em português, a fricativa alveolar, nessa mesma posição, compartilha do traço de sonoridade do segmento à sua direita (BISOL, 2005; FERREIRA NETTO, 2001; MATTOSO CÂMARA JR., 2007 [1970]). Ademais, as oclusivas nasais [m, n] não são licenciadas em posição de coda em português, a não ser diante de segmentos que lhes sejam homorgânicos (BISOL, 2005; CAGLIARI, 2007; MATTOSO CÂMARA JR., 2007 [1970]); em inglês, no entanto, essas oclusivas nasais podem ocorrer independentemente do ponto de articulação do elemento seguinte (EWEN; HULST, 2001; GIMSON; CRUTTENDEN, 2008; ROCA; JOHNSON, 1999). Cabe, portanto, ao aprendiz anglófono do português como segunda língua adquirir processos fonético-fonológicos não presentes em sua primeira língua, passando a vozear a fricativa alveolar final diante de segmento sonoro, p. ex. mai[s] árvores > mai[z] árvores, e a deixar de articular as oclusivas nasais em final de palavra, em favor da realização da vogal nasal do português, p. ex. co[m] arte > c[õw] arte. A partir do corpus, constituído por entrevistas com seis americanos e cinco britânicos, verificou-se que o tempo de residência no Brasil foi o fator mais significativo para a produção da fricativa alveolar vozeada e, juntamente com a qualidade da vogal, constituiu-se também como o fator mais relevante para a realização da vogal nasal. Pela análise da produção de aprendizes iniciantes, por meio do modelo baseado em restrições proposto pela Teoria da Otimidade, foi possível constatar a interação entre processos de marcação e de transferência do ranqueamento do inglês para a interlíngua do aprendiz. / In this dissertation, two phonological aspects of Portuguese as a second language by American and British learners are analysed within Optimality Theory framework (MCCARTHY; PRINCE, 1995; PRINCE; SMOLENSKY, 1993): the lack of regressive voicing assimilation involving the final alveolar fricative in word-boundary context and the production of nasal stops in word-final and word-boundary contexts. In English, the alveolar fricative /s/ in word-final position preceding a voiced segment tends to maintain its underlying voicing value (GIMSON; CRUTTENDEN, 2008; MYERS, 2010; ROCA; JOHNSON, 1999); conversely, in Portuguese, the alveolar fricative in this same position agrees in voicing with the following segment (BISOL, 2005; FERREIRA NETTO, 2001; MATTOSO CÂMARA JR., 2007 [1970]). Moreover, the nasal stops [m, n] are not allowed in coda position in Portuguese, unless they precede homorganic segments (BISOL, 2005; CAGLIARI, 2007; MATTOSO CÂMARA JR., 2007 [1970]); on the other hand, in English, these nasal stops can occur regardless of the next segments place of articulation (EWEN; HULST, 2001; GIMSON; CRUTTENDEN, 2008; ROCA; JOHNSON, 1999). Therefore, the Anglophone learner of Portuguese as a second language is given the task of acquiring phonetic/phonological processes not present in their first language, having to voice the final alveolar fricative which precedes a voiced segment, e. g. mai[s] árvores > mai[z] árvores more trees, and to cease producing nasal stops in word-final position in favour of the production of Portuguese nasal vowels, co[m] arte > c[õw] arte with art. From the corpus, consisting of interviews with six American and five British learners, it was demonstrated that the time of residence in Brazil was the most significant factor for the production of the voiced alveolar fricative, and together with the quality of the vowel, it was also shown to be the most relevant factor in the production of the nasal vowel. Analysing the production of beginning learners within Optimality Theory constraint-based model, it was possible to attest the interaction between markedness effects and transfer of the English constraint ranking to the learners interlanguage.

Nesta dissertação, são analisados, via Teoria da Otimidade (MCCARTHY; PRINCE, 1995; PRINCE; SMOLENSKY, 1993), dois aspectos da fonologia do português como segunda língua por aprendizes americanos e britânicos: a ausência de assimilação regressiva de vozeamento envolvendo a fricativa alveolar final em posição de fronteira de palavra e a produção de oclusivas nasais em posição final e de fronteira de palavra. Em inglês, a fricativa alveolar /s/ em coda final diante de segmento sonoro tende a manter seu status de vozeamento subjacente (GIMSON; CRUTTENDEN, 2008; MYERS, 2010; ROCA; JOHNSON, 1999); em contrapartida, em português, a fricativa alveolar, nessa mesma posição, compartilha do traço de sonoridade do segmento à sua direita (BISOL, 2005; FERREIRA NETTO, 2001; MATTOSO CÂMARA JR., 2007 [1970]). Ademais, as oclusivas nasais [m, n] não são licenciadas em posição de coda em português, a não ser diante de segmentos que lhes sejam homorgânicos (BISOL, 2005; CAGLIARI, 2007; MATTOSO CÂMARA JR., 2007 [1970]); em inglês, no entanto, essas oclusivas nasais podem ocorrer independentemente do ponto de articulação do elemento seguinte (EWEN; HULST, 2001; GIMSON; CRUTTENDEN, 2008; ROCA; JOHNSON, 1999). Cabe, portanto, ao aprendiz anglófono do português como segunda língua adquirir processos fonético-fonológicos não presentes em sua primeira língua, passando a vozear a fricativa alveolar final diante de segmento sonoro, p. ex. mai[s] árvores > mai[z] árvores, e a deixar de articular as oclusivas nasais em final de palavra, em favor da realização da vogal nasal do português, p. ex. co[m] arte > c[õw] arte. A partir do corpus, constituído por entrevistas com seis americanos e cinco britânicos, verificou-se que o tempo de residência no Brasil foi o fator mais significativo para a produção da fricativa alveolar vozeada e, juntamente com a qualidade da vogal, constituiu-se também como o fator mais relevante para a realização da vogal nasal. Pela análise da produção de aprendizes iniciantes, por meio do modelo baseado em restrições proposto pela Teoria da Otimidade, foi possível constatar a interação entre processos de marcação e de transferência do ranqueamento do inglês para a interlíngua do aprendiz. / In this dissertation, two phonological aspects of Portuguese as a second language by American and British learners are analysed within Optimality Theory framework (MCCARTHY; PRINCE, 1995; PRINCE; SMOLENSKY, 1993): the lack of regressive voicing assimilation involving the final alveolar fricative in word-boundary context and the production of nasal stops in word-final and word-boundary contexts. In English, the alveolar fricative /s/ in word-final position preceding a voiced segment tends to maintain its underlying voicing value (GIMSON; CRUTTENDEN, 2008; MYERS, 2010; ROCA; JOHNSON, 1999); conversely, in Portuguese, the alveolar fricative in this same position agrees in voicing with the following segment (BISOL, 2005; FERREIRA NETTO, 2001; MATTOSO CÂMARA JR., 2007 [1970]). Moreover, the nasal stops [m, n] are not allowed in coda position in Portuguese, unless they precede homorganic segments (BISOL, 2005; CAGLIARI, 2007; MATTOSO CÂMARA JR., 2007 [1970]); on the other hand, in English, these nasal stops can occur regardless of the next segments place of articulation (EWEN; HULST, 2001; GIMSON; CRUTTENDEN, 2008; ROCA; JOHNSON, 1999). Therefore, the Anglophone learner of Portuguese as a second language is given the task of acquiring phonetic/phonological processes not present in their first language, having to voice the final alveolar fricative which precedes a voiced segment, e. g. mai[s] árvores > mai[z] árvores more trees, and to cease producing nasal stops in word-final position in favour of the production of Portuguese nasal vowels, co[m] arte > c[õw] arte with art. From the corpus, consisting of interviews with six American and five British learners, it was demonstrated that the time of residence in Brazil was the most significant factor for the production of the voiced alveolar fricative, and together with the quality of the vowel, it was also shown to be the most relevant factor in the production of the nasal vowel. Analysing the production of beginning learners within Optimality Theory constraint-based model, it was possible to attest the interaction between markedness effects and transfer of the English constraint ranking to the learners interlanguage.

This work asks how and for whom humiliation can be therapeutic. J. M. Coetzee, in his works Waiting for the Barbarians, Life & Times of Michael K and Disgrace, does not simply critique the mentality of Empire, an “Enlightenment” or colonialist mode of knowing that knows no bounds to reason, but offers an alternative through the Magistrate, Michael K and David Lurie, all of whom are brutally shamed and “abjected”. Each character, I propose, experiences a Lacanian “therapy of humiliation” resulting in a subversion of their egos, which they come to understand as antagonistic, a site of misrecognition. In doing so, these characters confront limitation, whether by means of a Lacanian “death drive” or the abjection of the self. I argue, this subversion of their egos necessitates a return to the humility of the body resulting in a new ethical openness to others and an engagement with the world through “care” or “love” or “beauty” which manifests as careful negotiation and attentiveness. Confrontation with death, thus, allows the Magistrate, Michael K and David Lurie to slough off “Enlightenment” values in favor of an anti-humanist way of living.

This study attempts to shed light on the efficacy of crowdsourcing as a means of translating web content in Canada. Within, we seek to explore and understand if a model can be created that can estimate the effectiveness of crowdsourced translation as a means of bridging the Canadian Linguistic Digital Divide. To test our hypotheses and models, we use structural equation modeling techniques coupled with confidence intervals for comparing experimental crowdsourced translation to both professional and machine translation baselines. Furthermore, we explore a variety of factors which influence the quality of the experimental translations, how those translations performed in the context of their source text, and the ways in which the views of the quality of the experimental translations were measured before and after participants were made aware of how the experimental translations were created.

This Thesis is an exploration of white fathers in three post-apartheid novels: Mark Behr's The Smell of Apples, Nadine Gordimer's The House Gun, and J. M. Coetzee's Disgrace. By examining the link between private white hegemonic masculinity and the apartheid government, the Thesis analyzes the transitional process as these men try to adopt less authoritative identities.