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Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1945.

Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1945.

This study represents an attempt to make explicit, within a contrastive perspective, the various types of meaning which can be expressed by the modal auxiliary verbs of English and Afrikaans. Chapter 1 investigates the potential of contrastive analysis for application in the field of foreign-language teaching and it is found that this linguistic technique is of definite pedagogical relevance because negative learning transfer or interference, which results from differences between source and target languages, is a major cause of learner error. It is also noted here that generally speaking the most acceptable type of linguistic theory within which a contrastive analysis should be framed is one which recognises both surface and deeper levels of structure so that the surface forms in each language can be ultimately related to a common semantic base. The modal auxiliaries of the two languages were selected for study because of the high degree of formal similarity or congruence that obtains between the English and Afrikaans counterparts, a fact which can be expected to lead to a considerable amount of learning transfer. As the semantics of these forms is not always equivalent, however, some of this transfer is bound to be negative, i.e. error-generating. In Chapter 2 the syntactic and morphological characteristics of the English and Afrikaans forms are compared. Although, as Chapter 2 reveals, the modal auxiliaries constitute a fairly well-defined formal class in each language, they relate semantically to an extensive set of other expressions, all of which mark modality, a rather complex concept which may be broadly characterised as relating to qualifications on the truth-value of the basic proposition which a speaker expresses. In Chapter 3 various classifications of types of modality are discussed and a basic distinction is made between epistemic modality (qualification relates directly to the speaker's assessment of the factuality of the proposition expressed) and non-epistemic modality (qualifications relate more specifically to conditions on the process referred to). In both cases the 11 qualification" can be expressed as a kind of "possibility" or a kind of "necessity", and within the framework of our analysis modality is represented at the level of deep-semantic structure by POSS and NEC as higher abstract predicates linked to one another by a set of meaning postulates. The interpretation of these predicates depends on the kinds of arguments which accompany them in the semantic representation and these arguments are classified and labelled broadly in accordance with Fillmore's functionalsemantic definitions of "case". The modal abstract predicates take as arguments a predication which is labelled as a Goal and either an Agent or Instrument as a source. Unlike traditional "modal operators", then, they are two-place transitive-causative predicates and the basic structure of the modal content of sentences is seen to be something of the order of "x makes-possible/necessary y (pre di ca ti on)". . Representations of epistemic modality contain a further BELIEVE predicate as part of the Goal predication. Depending on the prelexical transformations that apply (e.g. whether the modality source is deleted or not) syntactically different modality markers are derived from the same basic semantic representation and so expressions such as John allows Fred ... ,Fred is allowed ... and Fred can ... are shown to be broadly synonymous. Our main concern here is not with the actual transformations but with the "semantic primitives" in terms of which different types of modality may be represented and related to one another. Using the framework outlined in Chapter 3, the semantics of the "possibility" and the "necessity" modal auxiliaries in each language is discussed in Chapters 4 and 5 respectively. Both non-oblique ("present") and oblique ("imperfect") forms are related to one another and to other modality markers. Chapter 6 deals briefly with negative forms of the modal auxiliaries before summarising the semantic similarities and contrasts between the congruent English and Afrikaans forms. It is found that in spite of considerable parallelism in the meaning-form relations expressed by the modal auxiliaries in the two languages, there are also a number of basic differences. The pedagogical implications and applications relating to this study, its findings and its approach, are reviewed briefly by way of conclusion. / Linguistics and Modern Languages

This thesis investigates the formal and functional properties of the linguistic knowledge of a young bilingual child 'Katla' who successively acquires Icelandic (L1, from birth) and English (L2, from age 1:3). I present new longitudinal natural speech data which I collected in both Icelandic and English from Katla at regular intervals. Audio-recordings were made roughly three times per month at age 1 ;0-4;7 and transcribed in adapted CHILDES/CHAT format. Using a generative framework, I analyse Katla's data qualitatively and quantitatively, focusing on her morphology and syntax during the period 1;6-3;6: determiners and word order in nominals, copula constructions, progressive constructions, imperatives, negation, verb placement, verb inflections, auxiliaries, and periphrastic do. Katla's development is compared with monolingual English-speaking and Icelandic-speaking children, and, where applicable, with other bilinguals. Particular attention is paid to early grammar differentiation and cross- language influence, and to the relationship between child language and input (construction types and frequencies). The empirical results are evaluated in the light of current theories of language acquisition and generative approaches to syntax. Katla's first multi-word combinations (1;6) show productive use of functional morphology (determiners, copulas). Early on, there is evidence of movement into the DP, IP and CP domains, indicating continuity of these functional categories. Moreover, translational equivalents, language-specific functional morphemes and language-specific word orders in Katla's Icelandic and English bear evidence of early language differentiation in successive child bilingualism. The longitudinal development of morpho-syntax largely progresses along separate lines for Katla's two languages; there is no cross- language influence as regards head parameter and movement parameter settings. Some construction transfer occurs where L1 and L2 linear orders are similar. Ensuing implications for transfer and (de)learnability are addressed.

This paper analyses the use of modal auxiliaries in an investment fund prospectus and how they are translated into Swedish. The semantics of modal auxiliaries is a rather fuzzy area. One modal verb such as may or will can have several different meanings, depending on the textual and situational context. Correctly interpreting the modal verbs is an important prerequisite for an accurate translation. A theoretical background founded on linguistic studies and grammatical presentations by Palmer (2001), Huddleston and Pullum (2002), Coates (1983), Teleman et al. (1999) and Wärnsby (2006) and others, provides a framework for analysing the meanings of the modal verbs in the source text and determining the most equivalent expressions in the Swedish modal system. Different types of modality, such as epistemic, deontic and dynamic, are discussed, along with the different textual and situational factors associated with each type. The analysis includes the most frequent modal auxiliaries found in the source text, namely (in the order of frequency from high to low) may, will, should, can, shall and must. Each modal verb is analysed in terms of its meanings and possible Swedish translations are discussed. One interesting aspect highlighted in the study is the close relationship between modality and futurity, which is particularly true for will. Due to the nature of the source text as a legal contract between the investment fund and the investors, the use of modal verbs specific to legal register is also considered in the analysis. The analysis shows that an awareness of the various factors associated with different types of modality and the linguistic features typical for the particular text type can help the translator correctly interpret and translate the modal verbs as accurately and consistently as possible.

Faculty of Science; School of Chemistry; PhD Thesis / The synthesis of nitrogen containing ring systems has been one of the interests of this research group at the University of the Witwatersrand for a long time. These systems form part of a group of compounds called alkaloids, whose structural diversity is rivalled only by their distribution in nature. A small sub-set of the alkaloids is the fused 5 and 6 membered bicyclic frames with nitrogen at one bridgehead. Having developed a unique method of synthesising these indolizidine alkaloids, we examined various aspects of this methodology and there remained one crucial question – what is the best way to control the stereochemical outcome of the ring-forming steps? This project looks at this question from the view of a model natural product, the indolizidine alkaloids (+)- and (–)-tashiromine. The synthesis of tashiromine and related compounds was examined using chiral auxiliaries such as the Oppolzer sultam and the Evans oxazolidinone, as well as the use of chirally modified reductants. The efficacies of the chiral auxiliaries were studied using molecular modelling techniques, and certain modifications were suggested from these results.