nÃo hà / O presente trabalho tem por objetivo principal descrever, à luz da semiÃtica francesa, greimasiana, o efeito de blindagem, entendido aqui como uma proteÃÃo contra a identificaÃÃo do sujeito-humorista com um universo axiolÃgico especÃfico, produzido pelo discurso humorÃstico. Para tanto, partimos de uma concepÃÃo de enunciaÃÃo como instÃncia pressuposta do enunciado que, como tal, somente pode ser descrita ou reconstruÃda pelas marcas deixadas no enunciado. Como implicaÃÃo dessa concepÃÃo de enunciaÃÃo, buscamos ainda descrever os procedimentos enunciativos e comunicativos que caracterizariam uma dinÃmica identitÃria, um procedimento enunciativo, portanto, a que convencionamos chamar sujeito-humorista. Fica evidente que nosso propÃsito nÃo passa por identificar um sujeito empÃrico, mas sim um modo de operaÃÃo discursiva que julgamos envolver estratÃgias enunciativas, de debreagem e de embreagem; ambiguidade do acordo comunicativo, fiduciÃrio e veridictÃrio; e ainda os modos de interaÃÃo mobilizados pelo enunciado humorÃstico. Dado que nosso objeto, a blindagem, nÃo se presta a uma anÃlise quantificÃvel numericamente, adotamos uma metodologia qualitativa. Por esse caminho, selecionamos textos reconhecidos como humorÃsticos que assumem o papel de exemplificar nossas reflexÃes acerca do fenÃmeno de blindagem. Os resultados de nossas leituras demonstraram que o efeito de blindagem se produz à medida em que os procedimentos enunciativos mobilizados e os acordos comunicativos estabelecidos esvaziam semanticamente o sujeitohumorista, criam instÃncias enunciativas com diferentes graus de profundidade e impedem a atribuiÃÃo ao sujeito-humorista da conjunÃÃo ou disjunÃÃo dos valores atualizados pelo enunciado. / O presente trabalho tem por objetivo principal descrever, à luz da semiÃtica francesa, greimasiana, o efeito de blindagem, entendido aqui como uma proteÃÃo contra a identificaÃÃo do sujeito-humorista com um universo axiolÃgico especÃfico, produzido pelo discurso humorÃstico. Para tanto, partimos de uma concepÃÃo de enunciaÃÃo como instÃncia pressuposta do enunciado que, como tal, somente pode ser descrita ou reconstruÃda pelas marcas deixadas no enunciado. Como implicaÃÃo dessa concepÃÃo de enunciaÃÃo, buscamos ainda descrever os procedimentos enunciativos e comunicativos que caracterizariam uma dinÃmica identitÃria, um procedimento enunciativo, portanto, a que convencionamos chamar sujeito-humorista. Fica evidente que nosso propÃsito nÃo passa por identificar um sujeito empÃrico, mas sim um modo de operaÃÃo discursiva que julgamos envolver estratÃgias enunciativas, de debreagem e de embreagem; ambiguidade do acordo comunicativo, fiduciÃrio e veridictÃrio; e ainda os modos de interaÃÃo mobilizados pelo enunciado humorÃstico. Dado que nosso objeto, a blindagem, nÃo se presta a uma anÃlise quantificÃvel numericamente, adotamos uma metodologia qualitativa. Por esse caminho, selecionamos textos reconhecidos como humorÃsticos que assumem o papel de exemplificar nossas reflexÃes acerca do fenÃmeno de blindagem. Os resultados de nossas leituras demonstraram que o efeito de blindagem se produz à medida em que os procedimentos enunciativos mobilizados e os acordos comunicativos estabelecidos esvaziam semanticamente o sujeitohumorista, criam instÃncias enunciativas com diferentes graus de profundidade e impedem a atribuiÃÃo ao sujeito-humorista da conjunÃÃo ou disjunÃÃo dos valores atualizados pelo enunciado. / The main purpose of this doctoral thesis is to describe, in the light of the French Semiotics, Greimasian, the shielding effect, understood here as a protection against the identification of the subject-humorist with a specific axiological universe, produced by humorous discourse. For this, we start from a conception of enunciation as a presupposed instance of the utterance which, as such, can only be described or reconstructed by the marks left in the utterance. As an implication of this conception of enunciation, we also try to describe the enunciative and communicative procedures that would characterize an identity dynamics, an enunciative procedure, therefore, what we call the subject-humorist. It is evident that our purpose is not to identify an empirical subject, but rather a discursive mode of operation that we think involves enunciative strategies, shifting out and shifting in; ambiguity of the communicative, fiduciary and veridictory agreement; and also the modes of interaction mobilized by the humorous statement. Since our object, the shield, does not lend itself to a numerically quantifiable analysis, we adopted a qualitative methodology. Through this path, we select texts recognized as humorous that assume the role of exemplifying our reflections about the phenomenon of shielding. The results of our analyzes showed that the shielding effect occurs as the mobilized enunciative procedures and the established communicative agreements empty the subject-humorist semantically, create enunciative instances with different degrees of depth and preclude the attribution to the subject-humorist of the conjunction or disjunction of the values updated by the statement. / The main purpose of this doctoral thesis is to describe, in the light of the French Semiotics, Greimasian, the shielding effect, understood here as a protection against the identification of the subject-humorist with a specific axiological universe, produced by humorous discourse. For this, we start from a conception of enunciation as a presupposed instance of the utterance which, as such, can only be described or reconstructed by the marks left in the utterance. As an implication of this conception of enunciation, we also try to describe the enunciative and communicative procedures that would characterize an identity dynamics, an enunciative procedure, therefore, what we call the subject-humorist. It is evident that our purpose is not to identify an empirical subject, but rather a discursive mode of operation that we think involves enunciative strategies, shifting out and shifting in; ambiguity of the communicative, fiduciary and veridictory agreement; and also the modes of interaction mobilized by the humorous statement. Since our object, the shield, does not lend itself to a numerically quantifiable analysis, we adopted a qualitative methodology. Through this path, we select texts recognized as humorous that assume the role of exemplifying our reflections about the phenomenon of shielding. The results of our analyzes showed that the shielding effect occurs as the mobilized enunciative procedures and the established communicative agreements empty the subject-humorist semantically, create enunciative instances with different degrees of depth and preclude the attribution to the subject-humorist of the conjunction or disjunction of the values updated by the statement.

Le principal but de cette thèse a été d'analyser les représentations de genre et d’enseignant introduites par les dessins animés “Billy et Mandy, Aventuriers de L'audelà" (The Grym Adventures of Billy & Mandy) et "Les Razmoket" (Rugrats), en mettant accent particulièrment sur leur rapport avec l’humour. La perspective adoptée est celle des Études Culturelles post-structuralistes avec des contributions venant d'autres domaines d'études telles que la Communication et la Psychanalyse Lacanienne. Pour y arriver, on a sélectionné, transcrit et analysé des épisodes de ces dessins animés exhibés entre 1991 et 2010 par les chaînes de télévision CartooNetwork et Nickelodeon. Les réflexions développées cherchent à observer dans le récit des dessins animés les représentations du/des personnages, en particulier celles des enfants, en les reliant aux concepts de genre, pouvoir, transgression, école et d'autres. En abordant ces questions, on a vérifié que l'utilisation de l'humour est un recours textuel puissant, un artifice employé par les dessins animés dans la fabrication de stéréotypes qui produisent le sujet-enfant. En ce qui concerne les questions de genre, le mouvement fondamental de ce travail a été de donner de la visibilité aux relations de pouvoir qui s’y forment, certains par le biais de la transgression, d'autres par la voie de l'affaiblissement. En ce qui concerne les représentations de l'école et des enseignants, il a été possible de vérifier certaines ruptures avec la figure “sacré” de l’enseignant (affectueuse, dévouée et maternelle). Cependant, les représentations d'école et d'éducation ne diffèrent pas du modèle traditionnel de l'école moderne, qui englobe le classement, l'organisation du temps et des espaces, en établissant des contenus et des évaluations fondées sur des concepts. Dans d'autres espaces éducatifs analysés dans les épisodes en question, il existe clairement des relations de pouvoir, de gouvernance et de contrôle. En résumé, on a avons observé que dans les discours des dessins étudiés destinés aux enfants, on peut observer les stéréotypes qui agissent dans la production de subjectivités féminines et masculines en tant que des pédagogies culturelles. / Esta tese tem como principal objetivo analisar as representações de gênero e de professor/a trazidas pelos desenhos animados ”As Terríveis Aventuras de Billy & Mandy” (The Grym Adventures of Billy & Mandy) e “Os Anjinhos” (Rugrats), considerando, em especial, a sua conexão com o humor. A perspectiva adotada foi a dos Estudos Culturais pós–estruturalistas, contando com aportes de outros campos de estudo como o da comunicação e psicanálise lacaniana. Para a consecução do objetivo, foram selecionados, transcritos e analisados episódios dos referidos DAs exibidos entre 1991 e 2010 pelos canais por assinatura CartooNetwork e Nickelodeon. As reflexões desenvolvidas buscaram olhar, na narrativa dos desenhos animados, as representações dos/as personagens, especialmente as/os infantis, articulando-as aos conceitos de gênero, poder, transgressão, escola, entre outros. Na abordagem dessas questões, foi enfatizado o uso do humor como recurso textual potente, artifício do qual se valem os desenhos animados na fabricação de estereótipos que produzem o sujeito infantil. Em relação a questões de gênero, o movimento fundamental desse trabalho foi dar visibilidade às relações de poder que ali estão sendo constituídas, algumas, pela via da transgressão, outras pela via da fragilização. Em relação às representações de escola e docência foi possível verificar algumas rupturas com a figura “consagrada” de professora (afetiva, dedicada e maternal). Entretanto, as representações de escola e de ensino não diferem do modelo tradicional da escola moderna, englobando seriação, organização de tempos e espaços, priorizando conteúdos e avaliações por conceitos. Nos outros espaços educativos analisados nos episódios recortados, há claras relações de poder, governamento e controle. Em síntese, observou-se que, nos discursos dos referidos desenhos, direcionados para o público infantil, é possível visualizar estereótipos que agem na produção de subjetividades femininas e masculinas, as quais atuam enquanto pedagogias culturais. / This thesis aims at analysing gender and male and female teacher representations by animated television series “The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy” and “Rugrats”, especially considering their association with humour. We have used the poststructuralist Cultural Studies perspective with the help from other study fields such as communication and Lacanian psychoanalysis. For this objective we have selected, transcribed and analysed episodes of the films presented between 1991 and 2010 in channels CartooNetwork and Nickelodeon. Reflections have sought to examine representations of characters, especially children’s, linking them to concepts of gender, power, transgression, school, and others linked to them. When treating these questions, we have stressed on the use of humour as a potential textual tool, a device animated television series use to create stereotypes producing the infant-subject. Concerning gender, the key movement of this work was towards visibility for power relations shaped there, some by transgression, some by frailty. Concerning school and teacher representations, we have found some ruptures with the ‘established’ female teacher figure (affectionate, devoted and motherly). However, school and education representations are not different from the traditional model of the modern school, including serialisation, time and space organisation, stressing on content and grade evaluation. In other educational spaces we have analysed in particular episodes, there are clear relations of power, government and control. In sum, we have observed that, in discourses in the particular child-directed animated series, it is possible to view stereotypes producing male and female subjectivities, which act as cultural pedagogies.

Humour has for a long time been regarded as something unproblematic that in general shouldn’t be taken seriously, and humour research has mainly focused its positive functions and effects. However, humour is indeed a social and discursive practise that, just like others, have social implications. The aim of this essay is, informed by an intersectional perspective, to problematize and critically examine stand-up comedy as discursive practise and to make visible how humour build upon dominating discourses in society. The aim is also to examine the self-contradictory dimension of the jokes. In a critical discourse analysis of Özz Nûjen’s show Dålig stämning (2013), using PC (political correctness) as an overall analytical framework, the analytical categories ‘women’ as well as ‘ethnicity and culture’ are focused. My conclusion is that in all cases of Nûjen’s prerogative of interpretation, ‘stupidity’, as the lowest common denominator, sticks to symbols, bodies and phenomenon that are associated with something deviant or negative. By what is not expressed, a white, normative Swedish PC-identity is constructed as the abstract, preferable subject. Nûjen’s stand-up comedy, i.a. in expressions of self-contradiction, proves to mainly reinforce social norms. Consequently, negative preconceptions and biased representations of reality are cemented. Though Nûjen does contribute to sociocultural change to some extent, the elaborations of the jokes in most cases prove to sustain the social order. A renegotiation of identities is therefore made strictly limited. However, in one case, Nûjen does challenge the notion of identities as fixed and essential, when renegotiating the master status and construction of “The ethnical Other woman”.

La presente tesi ha come scopo l’analisi della traduzione per il doppiaggio dell’umorismo costruito su argomenti tabù (quali ad esempio riferimenti al sesso, alla sessualità, all’obesità, al consumo di alcol e droghe) presente in quattro sitcom americane, nello specifico Friends, Will & Grace, How I Met Your Mother e 2 Broke Girls. In particolare, partendo dalla teoria della riscrittura proposta da Lefevere (1992,) la ricerca mira ad identificare casi di censura e manipolazione presenti nella traduzione in italiano dei suddetti testi audiovisivi. Con un approccio traduttivo descrittivo, i dialoghi trascritti dall’inglese sono stati confrontati con la loro traduzione in lingua italiana e i risultati dimostrano che censura e manipolazione all’interno della traduzione per il doppiaggio sono due fenomeni esistenti pur non essendo sempre possibile distinguere tra i due dal momento che non solo i vari specialisti coinvolti nel doppiaggio, quali traduttori, direttori del doppiaggio, doppiatori, adattatori, ma anche gli organi afferenti al patronato (Lefevere 1992) possono in qualche modo influire sull’atto traduttivo stesso. Un confronto diacronico tra le sitcom prese in esame dimostra tuttavia come fenomeni censori e manipolatori nella traduzione dell’umorismo tabù siano oggi in diminuzione rispetto al passato, probabile segno di una mutata ideologia nella cultura di arrivo. / The purpose of the present thesis is to analyse the translation for dubbing of humour based on taboo topics – such as, for example, references to sex, sexuality, obesity, alcohol and drug addiction – present in four American sitcoms, namely Friends, Will & Grace, How I Met Your Mother and 2 Broke Girls. Moving from the theory of rewriting introduced by Lefevere (1992), the present research aims to identify cases of manipulation and censorship in the Italian translation of the above-mentioned audiovisual texts. Following a descriptive translational approach, the English dialogues have been compared to their Italian translation. Results show that censorship and manipulation exist in the translation for dubbing even though it is not always possible to distinguish between the two. Indeed, not only the several specialists involved in the dubbing process, such as translators, dubbing directors, dubbing actors, adaptors, but also the powers linked to patronage (Lefevere 1992) can influence in several ways the translation process. However, a diachronic comparison of the analysed sitcoms demonstrates that censorial and manipulative phenomena in the translation of taboo humour are decreasing compared to the past, and this is probably due to a change in the receiving culture ideology.

Cette étude s'attache à démontrer comment les écrits satiriques du poète élisabéthain John Donne (1572-1631) lui permettent de développer une esthétique propre, qui ne se cantonne pas qu'au corpus satirique strict mais trouve également une résonance dans le reste de son œuvre. Traditionnellement considérée comme une tendance marginale dans sa poésie, la satire chez Donne s'exprime à travers d'autres textes, laissant ainsi transparaître un « esprit satirique ». Le jeu et la prise de distance du poète vis-à-vis des conventions littéraires, sociales et religieuses de son époque nous permettent de mettre au jour une poétique dominée par le doute et la mélancolie. Cette humeur noire, selon la théorie médicale des humeurs, nous conduit vers l'humour et le comique : fort peu examinés chez Donne, ces concepts transparaissent pourtant à la lecture des textes les moins explorés par la critique, dévoilant ainsi une esthétique qui donne sa cohérence au corpus. John Donne n'est pas que le chef de file de la poésie métaphysique : son statut de satiriste lui confère également celui d'humoriste. / This study aims to show how the satiric writings of Elizabethan poet John Donne (1572-1631) display a specific aesthetics, which is also to be found in all his work and not only in his satiric texts. Although it has traditionally been considered as a fringe element in Donne's poetry, satire appears in other writings, thus disclosing a ''satiric spirit''. By playing and distancing himself from the literay, social and religious standards of his time, the poet's work reveals an aesthetics ruled by doubt and melancholy. According to the system of medicine called ''humorism'', melancholy is a black fluid that brings us to humour and comedy : even though they have been rarely examined in Donne studies, these concepts do stand out after a close reading of the least sought-after poems. It thus unites and makes the whole of Donne's poetry coherent. Not only is he the best representative of the metaphysical poets, he is also a satirist as well as a humorist.

Modern humour appears to initiate the deconstruction of modern correspondence thinking. A close examination shows the opposite, namely that modern humour forms part of correspondence thought in a complicated reciprocal relationship of disruption and support. Ironically, humour is particularly suited to explicating the deconstruction of correspondence thinking in poststructuralist language theories by being prone to refute cornerstone principles of modernism such as truth, rationality, reliability and permanence. This dissertation focuses on the exceptional suitability of humour to adapt to the loss of the centre and to demonstrate the shift from the modernist ontological approach to the postmodernist creative metaphorical approach to art. Humour, like metaphor, reinvents meaning rather than discovers it; it remains open-ended instead of offering closure. It becomes a valid creative option and enters a new dynamic into a postmodern culture of play where truth and meaning remain infinitely suspended in an ungrounded state of possibility. / Art History, Visual Arts & Music / M.A. (Visual Arts)

Impersonal, non-face-to-face contact and text-based interfaces, in the e-Learning segment, present major problems that are encountered by learners, since they are out on vital personal interactions and useful feedback messages, as well as on real-time information about their learning performance. This research programme suggests a multimodal, combined with an edutainment approach, which is expected to improve the communications between users and e-Learning systems. This thesis empirically investigates users’ effectiveness; efficiency and satisfaction, in order to determine the influence of edutainment, (e.g. amusing speech and facial expressions), combined with multimodal metaphors, (e.g. speech, earcon, avatar, etc.), within e-Learning environments. Besides text, speech, visual, and earcon modalities, avatars are incorporated to offer a visual and listening realm, in online learning. The methodology used for this research project comprises a literature review, as well as three experimental platforms. The initial experiment serves as a first step towards investigating the feasibility of completing all the tasks and objectives in the research project, outlined above. The remaining two experiments explore, further, the role of edutainment in enhancing e-Learning user interfaces. The overall challenge is to enhance user-interface usability; to improve the presentation of learning, in e-Learning systems; to improve user enjoyment; to enhance interactivity and learning performance; and, also, to contribute in developing guidelines for multimodal involvement, in the context of edutainment. The results of the experiments presented in this thesis show an improvement in user enjoyment, through satisfaction measurements. In the first experiment, the enjoyment level increased by 11%, in the Edutainment (E) platform, compared to the Non-edutainment (NE) interface. In the second experiment, the Game-Based Learning (GBL) interface obtained 14% greater enhancement than the Virtual Class (VC) interface and 20.85% more than the Storytelling interface; whereas, the percentage obtained by the game incorporated with avatars increased by an extra 3%, compared with the other platforms, in the third experiment. In addition, improvement in both user performance and learning retention were detected through effective and efficiency measurements. In the first experiment, there was no significant difference between mean values of time, for both conditions (E) & (NE) which were not found to be significant, when tested using T-test. In the second experiment, the time spent in condition (GBL) was higher by 7-10 seconds, than in the other conditions. In the third experiment, the mean values of the time taken by the users, in all conditions, were comparable, with an average of 22.8%. With regards to effectiveness, the findings of the first experiment showed, generally, that the mean correct answer for condition (E) was higher by 20%, than the mean for condition (NE). Users in condition (GBL) performed better than the users in the other conditions, in the second experiment. The percentage of correct answers, in the second experiment, was higher by 20% and by 34.7%, in condition (GBL), than in the (VC) and (ST), respectively. Finally, a set of empirically derived guidelines was produced for the design of usable multimodal e-Learning and edutainment interfaces.

<p>Language-play can briefly be described as the wilful manipulation of the peculiarities of a linguistic system in a way that draws attention to these peculiarities themselves, thereby causing a communicative and cognitive effect that goes beyond the conveyance of propositional meaning. Among the various phenomena answering this description are the different kinds of puns, but also more strictly form-based manipulations such as rhymes and alliteration, in addition to a host of other, sometimes even fuzzier, subcategories.</p><p>Due to its unusual nature, and especially its frequently strong dependence on the idiosyncrasies of a particular language, language-play can generally be assumed to constitute a significant challenge in a translation context. Furthermore, given its non-negligible effects, the translator is not free to simply ignore the language-play (provided it has been recognized as such in the first place) without having taken an active stance on its treatment. However, the difficulties in finding a suitable target-language solution are possibly exacerbated if the source text is a complex multimedia product such as a film, the translation of which, normally in the form of dubbing or subtitling, is subject to additional constraints.</p><p>In view of these intricacies, it has been the aim of this study to analyze and measure how language-play in film has actually been treated in authentic dubbing and subtitle versions. As a prerequisite, the concept of language-play has been elaborated on, and more than a dozen subcategories have been described, developed, and employed. For the purpose of carrying out a meaningful analysis of the dubbing and subtitling of language-play, a corpus has been compiled, comprising 18 family films and 99 of their various target versions, most on DVD, and yielding nearly 800 source-text instances of language-play and thousands of translation solutions.</p><p>The results indicate that especially two sets of factors, among the many that are likely to influence a translation, play a prominent role: the type of the language-play, and the identity and working conditions of the translator. By contrast, the mode of translation (dubbing vs. subtitling), the target language, or the general properties of the films, could not be shown to have a sizeable impact.</p>

Ce mémoire analyse le phénomène de l’humour politique envers les chefs d’État égyptiens (Moubarak, Moursi et Es-Sissi) sur les places publiques et sur les réseaux sociaux durant les soulèvements du printemps arabe entre 2011 et 2015 qui furent remplis de tumultes, de divisions et de déceptions. L’humour politique était très présent dès le premier moment et a non seulement joué un rôle important comme marqueur de transformations dans le système politique, mais aussi comme marqueur du déroulement d’un drame social qui connaît des phases d’évolution et de régression, voire un retour vers un point de départ. Alors que la symbolique du chef d’État égyptien implique la mobilisation d’une image locale d’Ibn El Balad (égyptien authentique et fils du pays), père et unificateur d’un peuple sensible à son héritage millénaire et à ses traditions, l’humour politique reflète à la fois les aspirations des jeunes activistes branchés sur le monde pour une société civile basée sur le respect des droits de la personne et le rappel populaire constant des valeurs traditionnelles fondatrices de la nation égyptienne que le président égyptien doit incarner, soit la famille et la religion. Même si le tabou du président est brisé, le champ politique semble retourner vers un point de départ. Le peu de libéralisme gagné avec ces tumultes révolutionnaires depuis cinq ans se trouve détourné et devient plutôt un signe négatif dans une société qui, une fois revenue à la normale, demeure profondément conservatrice. / This thesis analyzes the phenomenon of political humor to the head of the Egyptian State (Mubarak, Mursi and Es-Sissi) on public squares and on social networks during the Arab Spring uprisings between 2011 and 2015, which was a period of turmoil, divisions and disappointments. Political humor was very present from the first moment, and has not only played an important role as a marker of changes in the political system, but also as a marker of the progress of a social drama who knows evolution and regression phases, or even a return to a starting point. While the symbolism of the Egyptian head of state involves the mobilization of a local image of Ibn El-Balad (authentic Egyptian and son of the country), father and unifier of a people sensitive to its old heritage and traditions, political humor reflects both the aspirations of young activists globally connected to a civil society based on respect for human rights and the constant reminder of traditional values, founders of the Egyptian nation that the Egyptian President must embody, such as family and religion . Although the taboo president is broken, the political field seems to return to a starting point and limited liberalism gained with these revolutionary turmoil for five years is hijacked and becomes a more negative sign in a society which, once returned to normal rest deeply conservative.

This thesis discusses the comic discourse in Laurence Sterne's novel The life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. It shows the way in which the theories of the comic of Henri Bergson and Sigmund Freud are applied in this novel. In Tristram Shandy, the principles of the comic of Bergson and Freud do not function in their usual manner; they are fulfilled by the structure and the process of narration. The comic in this novel is also enhanced by the fact that aspects of narration that are usually static and unchanging throughout a novel (such as the nature of the narrator) gained dynamism in Tristram Shandy. This dynamism offers a space for the structural comic to origin. The comic of Tristram Shandy also draws from the principle of association. This novel inspired later theories of humour and the comic in general.