The aim of the thesis is to show how gender, ethnicity and generation membership categories are constituted in talk-in-interaction. The main material comprises seven video recordings of multi-participant conversations among school pupils, aged 16 to 19. An important theoretical term is intersectionality, i.e. the interplay between different social categories. The tools of analysis are mainly derived from conversation analysis and discursive psychology. Identity is seen as a dynamic phenomenon and I analyse the identities the participants themselves make relevant during the course of the conversations. The investigation, aided by membership categorisation analysis, is carried out into how social categories are negotiated and used in establishing identity. In the analyses, social categories in particular are used in order to constitute identities by the participants’ creating contrasts between in-group, we, and out-group, them. Category-bound activities are used to constitute social categories. The participants also use more specific resources for talk-in-interaction – for example, active voicing and extreme case formulations – to establish or negotiate social categories. Interactional strategies and tools are used in resistance to avoid being attributed membership in a certain category, and partly consist of various ways of renegotiating the implication of belonging to a certain category. Thus, generalising notions about social groups become more nuanced and the adolescents avoid being categorised as passive victims of cultural notions. Gender, ethnicity and generation membership are furthermore constituted through storytelling. To sum up, the above linguistic resources are used first and foremost for three different types of discursive work during the group conversations. First, the adolescents argue that they are unique and independent and therefore not dependent on cultural expectations. Secondly, they place themselves in relation to the categories by their enacting themselves as normal in various ways. Thirdly, the adolescents establish a positive self image by modifying or renegotiating the non-desirable activities associated with the categories. The results show how the categories have situational relevance and are dealt with locally, and invoke normative expectations as to how members of social groups ought to behave.

This dissertation is a study on the works of the Swedish author Carl Jonas Love Almqvist during the final years of his exile in America. Focusing on the monumental 1438-page unpublished manuscript 'About Swedish Rhymes', the study first presents the textual material and then discusses the text from different formal and content-based aspects essential to an understanding of Almqvist's works in exile. In the manuscripts preserved from his last years of exile, i.e. the period after 1860, Almqvist refers to 'Mr Hugo's Academy, established in the year 1838' introduced in one of the volumes of The Book of the Wild Rose (1839). In comparison with his earlier fiction about academic "cabinet meetings", this fiction of such an academy, conceived in exile, is in some ways extraordinary. A close reading of the texts reveals that the aging Almqvist, contrary to previous opinions about him, maintained strict control over the activity: the extension and division of the record, as well as its references to time and space, all indicate a complete consistency and an exact mimetic order. The consideration of 'About Swedish Rhymes' starts out from exterior qualities. The observations are first considered in relation to the author's statements on the importance of the manuscript for the literary work of art. Subsequently, the genesis of the "exile" texts is re-examined. One key question here is whether the manuscript was completed in Philadelphia, or was continued in Bremen during the final year of his life. The content of the conversations in the records of the cabinet meetings is also analyzed. Although questions of metre and versification dominate, the text also deals with a variety of widely differing subjects, including discussions about the use of language and linguistic norms. The fictitious frame that the cabinet meeting provides for the purpose of discussing metre and rhyme is also considered. Here we find various improvised verses composed at the cabinet meeting and put into the mouth of the authentic versifier H.J. Seseman. One important question is whether the cabinet-meeting discussions about the metre in these verses are intended to be a serious contribution to scholarly debate, or whether they in fact have ironic undertones. Next, the narration of the "exile" texts is discussed from the point of view provided by its own fictitious perspective, together with the author’s relation to irony, satire and parody. The concluding chapter deals with verse-making in the record of rhyming. The emphasis is laid on the analysis and characterization of the various rhymed verses collected under the title Sesemana. One essential question concerns the 'rubbishy' or 'plain' character of these poems. The present analysis indicates that questions of rubbish, textual triviality and the like must bow to the broader question of the character of the poems in a deeper sense. Seseman's poetry is considered in relation to the Songes collection. Finally the question of how rhythm manifests itself as 'free verse' in a number of these poems with more serious content is also discussed.

In this thesis, medieval free translation is explored as a text-producing practice as it appears in Alexanders saga, a 13th century Old Norse translation of the medieval Latin epic Alexandreis. The practice is investigated through analyses of (1) the rendering of the source text and (2) the translator’s role in making the target text. The rendering is analyzed through a systematic comparison between source and target text using a method of analysis based on systemic functional linguistics (SFL). Contrary to what was assumed previously, the rendering pro­ves to be consistent in the text, but a surprising result is that the rendering in chapters 2–4 and in chapters 1 and 6–10 respectively represent two significantly dif­ferent patterns, the former being closer to the source text than the latter, pre­sumably due to two different translators. The investigation further confirms an observation in previous research on Old Norse free translation that the rendering of parts in direct speech are closer to the source than that of narrative and descriptive discourse. The rendering is closest where the translator indicates that he is quoting the author of the source text. These patterns are found in both groups of chapters, and as they are confirmed in other Old Norse translations, they might be interpreted as a translation norm. The conceptions of translation are further investigated by examining what kind of text-producing role the translator assumes. It is claimed that, despite the freedom in free ren­dering, the translator assumes the role of intermediary between the source text and the receivers of the target text rather than the role of independent text pro­ducer. From an analysis of the translator’s metatextual additions, it seems as though this is also what the translator assumes the receivers of the text expect him to do. The results indicate the presence of certain conceptions of how translation was to be carried out in West Nordic society. The ”free” translation strategies did not mean freedom from or obliviousness to translation norms, but rather re­late to a specific text-producing practice.

The aim of this thesis is to examine and elucidate the introduction of new first names and the patterns of name giving from a social perspective based on material from baptismal registers. The region I have chosen to examine is Skellefteå and its surroundings 1791-1890. The point of departure is that the name giving may be considered a symbolic indication of the division between "us" and "them", based on constantly changing taste. During the period under examination, 1791-1890, 71 149 first names occur and 582 of which has been defined as new, i.e. first names that, as far as I know, did not exist in the area before the first example. Seen as the percentage of names occurring within different social groups the largest portion of new first names is introduced by the bourgeoisie and the smallest by the agrarian group. The new first names have been categorised as either a name choice or a name formation, with the former category containing more names than the latter. As regards categories of new names the bourgeoisie predominantly utilize name choice while for the agrarian group name formation predominates. The new pattern of name giving I have examined is the polyname system, which expands from the 18th Century onwards. The custom first grows in the name giving of girls, especially if born into the bourgeoisie. This social group also introduces the custom for the boys. When the custom of giving two names becomes too common in the region the bourgeoisie returns increasingly to one first name for the children, or to three or four names for each child. As regards the order of the new or old names, for boys the old name is generally placed first, especially among the agrarian group, if the two names are even in other respects e.g. have the same number of syllables. Once a new first name has been introduced it has to spread to survive. Of the 582 new names 422 spread and 160 do not. To examine the initial diffusion process from both a social and a geographical perspective 23 names have been chosen as representatives of different patterns of diffusion. The diffusion is described in terms of influence spreading from district to district or influence in the immediate surroundings. These two geographical aspects have been treated from a social perspective, in terms of a heterogeneous or homogenous social diffusion respectively. / digitalisering@umu

I avhandlingen analyseras betydelsen hos partiklarna "in", "ut", "upp" och "ner" då dessa fungerar som verbpartiklar och tillsammans med verbet bildar partikelverb. Analysen omfattar såväl semantiskt regelbundna som lexikaliserade partikelverb och söker finna förklaringar till partiklarnas polysemi. Undersökningen är korpusbaserad och materialet består av nästan 900 olika partikelverb representerade med över 5 100 belägg. Beskrivnings¬modellen bygger huvudsakligen på den kognitiva semantiken. Verbpartiklarna analyseras i olika kontexter i såväl det fysiska rummets domän som i andra domäner varvid utgångspunkten för analysen alltid är partiklarnas prototypiska (spatiala) betydelse. Undersökningen visar att verbpartiklarnas olika, till synes disparata, betydelser är motiverade av föreställningsscheman (VERTICAL AXIS schema) och deras transformationer (vertikal axel  horisontell axel), samt av metonymier (DELEN FÖR HELHETEN) och metaforer (CENTRUM IS UP). Partiklarnas betydelser är länkade till varandra genom familjelikhet och bildar ett nätverk. Partikelverb bildade med in, ut, upp och ner uppvisar vanligen en avgränsad aktionsart, men verbpartiklarna har i de allra flesta en mer specifik betydelse än enbart den perfektiva. Verbpartiklarna upp och in betecknar i regel riktningen mot centrum och har ofta positiva konnotationer medan verbpartiklarna ut och ner denoterar rörelsen mot periferin och snarare har negativa konnotationer. Den vertikala orienteringen tycks dominera svenskans strukturering av det fysiska rummets domän; en rörelse i förhållande till en vertikalt orienterad behållare (behållare utan tak) beskrivs med de vertikala partiklarna upp/ner och inte med behållarpartiklarna in/ut. I vissa få speciella kontexter kan de undersökta partiklarna signalera talarens perspektiv.

This thesis deals with what happens linguistically and interactionally in naturally occurring bilingual talk-in-interaction between Danes and Swedes. In the data – collected within the elderly care in a Danish municipality – three Swedish caregivers interact with Danish pensioners and colleagues. Previous research on inter-Scandinavian interaction has mostly been concerned with talk-in-interaction in arranged situations and/or situations where the participants do not interact regularly with other Scandinavians. The talk-in-interaction in the present data, however, has a clear activity context, and the participants are used to talking to people speaking the neighbour language. The aim of this study was to examine how comprehension, understanding and social affiliation were achieved and demonstrated across differences in language, age, nationality and institutional roles. The theoretical and methodological framework includes accommodation theory and conversation analysis. The linguistic aspects of the Swedish speakers’ accommodation to Danish were studied both in a detailed analysis of accommodation on five linguistic levels, and quantitatively in a study of five linguistic variables. One result was that the Swedish caregivers had individual ways of accommodating their language to Danish. The linguistic analyses also indicated that one reason for this accommodation was to make communication flow more efficiently. A CA-study of other-initiated repair showed that four factors in the interactional situation influenced understanding: context, physical distance and orientation, clearness of speech, and neighbour language and accommodation. It could, however, not be shown that the speakers’ use of different linguistic varieties caused a significant number of problems in understanding, or that the participants frequently oriented to such linguistic differences as part of the problem. Compliment sequences and their role in creating social affiliation were studied in another CA-study. They often played the role of introducing a new topic and leading the talk away from the practical chores at hand, thereby reducing the institutional aspect of the situation. The interactional ways of creating comprehension, understanding and social affiliation are likely to be at least as important as linguistic convergence in achieving these goals.

Abstract Ask, S., 2007: Vägar till ett akademiskt skriftspråk (Roads to academic written language). Acta Wexionensia nr 115/2007. ISBN: 978-91-7636-557-1 The overall aim of the dissertation is to analyse the general features of academic writing skills that students’ texts show at the beginning and at the end of their undergraduate education, and to investigate the paths chosen by students from different study backgrounds when they acquire competence in academic writing. The dissertation studies changes of level within the educational system from a student perspective. The empirical material consists of qualitative research interviews with student teachers at different stages of their training, and of the analyses of texts written by the same students. The study shows that both new and experienced students find it difficult to see a link between the tuition in Swedish in high school and their university studies, especially when it comes to academic writing. The new students therefore feel frustration and confusion in the transition phase. The experienced students say that they have mainly developed competence in academic writing during their studies through supervision in essay writing, which is felt to be crucial for linguistic development. The new students’ interim texts are characterized by the clear personal presence of an author, a varying degree of copying from source texts, and uncertain handling of references. Expressions of critical-analytical thinking are not common, and the texts usually have an everyday tone. The experienced students do not copy texts, yet they show great insecurity in their use of the content of the source texts. They write “academically” by using frequent reference markers and adopting a bombastic style. The linguistic tools of academic writing are used by the experienced students as decoration, to strengthen the impression of familiarity with the academic discourse.

The thesis deals with the use of spoken Swedish on six English-medium university courses in Sweden. The courses are taken by both Swedish and foreign students, with English as the common language of instruction. The aim of the study is to describe and understand the oral use of Swedish, by students in particular, in the type of linguistic environment that arises when English is the medium of instruction. Language use is studied from three angles: the use of spoken Swedish, the functions of Swedish in interaction, and participants’ attitudes to Swedish and English and to the choice of one language or the other. The analysis is based on observations and recordings of naturally occurring talk on courses in the subject areas business studies, engineering and computer science, and on interviews with students and teaching staff. Close analysis of the Swedish spoken is combined with ethnographic knowledge of the broader social context of the courses, and in both theory and method the thesis combines the research fields of sociolinguistics and ethnography. The study shows that Swedish is spoken on all the courses observed. It is used primarily outside whole-group teaching, in interactions not involving foreign students. The language occurs both in talk relating to the course subject and in private conversations. Thus, English-medium education does not by definition mean that English is the only language employed; Swedish, too, has a more or less prominent place. In the thesis, attitudes and patterns of language choice are attributed to the national, rather than international, character of the courses, and to the fact that most of the students and lecturers have experience of and routines from Swedish-medium education. The old routines are carried over into the nominally English-medium courses, giving Swedish a special position and local prestige in these environments. / Avhandlingen handlar om hur svenska används i den muntliga interaktionen i sex engelskspråkiga universitetskurser i Sverige. Kurserna följs av både svenska och utländska studenter och engelska är det gemensamma språket i undervisningen. Undersökningen utgår från studenternas språkbruk och syftet är att beskriva och förstå särskilt studenters muntliga användande av svenska i den typ av språkmiljö som uppstår då engelska är undervisningsspråk. Språkbruket undersöks från tre infallsvinklar: den talade svenskans användning, svenskans funktioner i interaktionen samt deltagarnas attityder till dels svenska och engelska, dels valet av språk. Analysen utgår från observationer och inspelningar av naturligt förekommande samtal i undervisning inom ämnesområdena företagsekonomi, teknik och datavetenskap samt från intervjuer med studenter och lärare. Näranalyser av den talade svenskan kombineras med etnografisk kunskap om kursernas bredare sociala sammanhang, och i teori och metod kombineras forskningsfälten sociolingvistik och etnografi. Resultatet visar att svenska förekommer i alla undersökta kurser. Svenska används främst utanför helklassundervisningen i samtal där utländska studenter inte deltar. Språket talas både i samtal som rör studieämnet och i privata samtal. Att kurserna är nominellt engelskspråkiga betyder alltså inte att engelska är det enda språk som används i samband med undervisningen, också svenskan har en mer eller mindre framträdande plats. I avhandlingen förklaras attityder och språkvalsmönster med att kurserna till sin karaktär är nationella – i motsats till internationella – och att majoriteten studenter och lärare har erfarenhet och rutiner från svenskspråkiga utbildningar. De gamla rutinerna förs över till de nominellt engelska kurserna och ger svenskan en särställning och lokal prestige i miljöerna.

The grass of wetlands in northern Sweden has been utilized for mowing and pasture even in our time. There are a large number of words and expressions, expecially in the dialects, to denote and describe the various types of wetlands.The chief aim of the thesis is to investigate some 40 wetland terms in a limited area - the old parish of Luleå, Norrbotten, in northern Sweden - in order to establish their distribution, meanings and use. The aim of the study is also to illustrate different semantic aspects, such as semantic features, semantic fields, the relationship between common nouns and place-names, as well as explanations based on the appearance of the wetlands. The material consists of words that derive from archives, the literature on the subject and interviews with 43 informants, and has been supplemented with studies of the wetlands themselves.Three semantically similar words, drävj, dröla and dovei, are scrutinized and compared with reference to their frequency and distribution, position, humidity, vegetation, form and depth of the ground. To illustrate the relationship between words and referents the author investigates what words are used about (small) muddy pools in a swamp (mire) and about the dry parts of a swamp (in technical language called flarkar and strängar, respectively). The words drävj and dröla are compared with five other words for 'depression/hollow' etc. and 'small pool' etc. Similarities and differences are illustrated in three figures on the basis of criteria like depression/hollow, humidity and size. The words are often explained with reference to special places in the area or to adjacent places, the names of which contain the word in question. With two pairs of words as examples, grande and skärpa, and drävj and dröla, respectively, the author investigates the meanings of the words and their referents and the explanatory strategies of the informants.The author stresses the dependence of word explanations and the learning of words on their contexts and functional situations. This aspect is illustrated in a chapter which summerizes how the author's semantic views of dövel, dröla and drävj have been formed. This is done with reference to the so-called prototype theory. / digitalisering@umu

The subject of this study is student writing in its institutional setting, examining students’ texts, professional discourse and educational practices. Fieldwork for the study was conducted at the departments of History and Economics of Stockholm University. The general aim of the study is to increase our understanding of the relationships between student writing, educational settings and professional discourse. The theoretical framework is the sociocultural approach as outlined by Wertsch from Bakhtin and Vygotsky, and applied on writing research by above all Dysthe. The theoretical-methodological attempts are an operationalisation of the concept of dialogicity in different aspects and an application of the concept of mediational means at the linguistic level of text type or speech act. The type of dialogicity and epistemology of a setting is shown to have major influences on students’ writing. The epistemology of economics is defined as rationalistic, and that of history as critical-pluralistic. In economics, linear logical reasoning with clear-cut solutions is a key mediational means, while reasoning with a multitude of perspectives is given precedence in history. Students adjust their texts to the kind of dialogicity in the setting. However, in interviews, some students, mainly in economics, exhibit a resistance to the epistemology and mediational means of their discipline. This resistance seems not to influence their texts, but in all probability the depth of their learning. In addition, the socialisation seems to be a more prolonged process in economics. The reasons may be that the mediational means have a weak connection to students’ previous knowledge and that they are not collectively applied in economics to the same extent as in history. Thus, a pedagogical conclusion is that the important mediational means of a discipline should be collectively applied during study. Moreover, student writing should be considered in relation to students’ previous knowledge, their course of study and their future professional activity.