This thesis examines question tags right and isn't it from pragmatic and sociolinguistic perspectives. English question tags have most frequently been analyzed from the sociolinguistic angle while at the same time completely avoiding the pragmatic aspects that represent a key factor in the sociolinguistic background. The theoretical part of the thesis introduces sociolinguistic aspects and approaches to question tags, as well as their formal aspects. This thesis is a corpus based study (British National Corpus chosen as the primary source of material) where 200 examples were extracted from the corpus and further studied (100 examples on the question tag right and 100 examples on the question tag isn't it). The study analyzes the question tags from the sociolinguistic perspective, focusing on the type of conversation (cross-gender or same-sex conversations) and relating the pragmatic functions of question tags to speakers' gender and speakers' age. Further, the analysis also inquires into what sentence types precede the two question tags. The paper also offers a revised classification of pragmatic functions of the two question tags. Key words: question tags, pragmatic functions of question tags, immediate and postponed response, speaker's gender

This paper aims to explore the linguistic features of the dialect in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States. The study sets out to define what the distinct features of the dialect are, and investigate frequencies among Upper Peninsula natives, specifically from Marquette County. The research conducted for this thesis is based on multiple recordings of a small number of native dialect speakers from this area. The results show that features such as pronunciation, and the vowel sounds in particular, as well as dialectal expressions play a large part in defining this characteristic dialect. Furthermore, analyses of consonant sounds, lexical items, dialect expressions such as eh and ya, and the matter of stress, are included in the study as well as a brief discussion on how age- grading may affect the dialect.

This study is about the use of three Discourse Markers (henceforth DMs) in news interviews. It is an attempt to demonstrate how well, you know and I mean are employed in news interviews. It also shows what participants accomplish using the DMs as rhetorical devices.

English has integrated into Swedish society, and into the Swedish language. In this study, the goal is to examine why English has become so influential in Sweden and if this has occurred previously. This will be studied by examining the historical relation between Swedish and three languages, German, French and English. Moreover, the English language influences will be examined more extensively in its global spread and its social relation to Swedish. This essay will contain a limited study, which will ask a sample of twenty individuals if they think Sweden requires a second language, and what language they would select to fill this position. There is a pattern to observe in the historical language influences, which are: the global presence of the language, the integration and immigration into the Swedish society and the grammatical and lexical significance of loanwords. The majority of the sample selected English as the language that would fill a second language position in Sweden, and close to half of the sample thought Sweden requires a second language. With such a limited sample and with few questions, no claims could be made regarding the requirement of a second language in Sweden. This could be expanded further into a more extensive study with less focus on the historical influences upon Swedish.

À la croisée des études historiques et linguistiques, cette recherche vise à saisir le fonctionnement du langage et des langues dans les inscriptions médiévales, en tant qu'institution et pratique sociale, angle sous lequel elles n'avaient jamais été abordées. Les méthodes sociolinguistiques et d'analyse de discours y sont privilégiées pour traiter un corpus de 678 textes épigraphiques des XIIe-XIVe siècles de l'Ouest de la France. Les inscriptions sont un moyen de communication écrite avec un but de conservation de la mémoire et de transmission de l'information au public large, prenant place dans un matériau le plus souvent durable. À cette fin, elles utilisent des moyens langagiers et graphiques (des codes) qui leur sont propres et qui permettent de parler d'un « discours épigraphique ». Ces codes sont la brièveté, l'emploi des formules, des déictiques et l'usage des majuscules. En parallèle, le discours épigraphique a recours aux éléments de la rhétorique, montre une recherche esthétique et élabore une pragmatique. Au cours des XIIe- XIVe siècles, ce discours, jusque là en latin, accueille la langue romane, comme les autres sources écrites. Cette période est un « tuilage », car les deux langues cohabitent. Le français apparaît d'abord dans des mots isolés, puis à l'échelle de textes entiers, selon des chronologies variables suivant les régions. Ce changement linguistique est dû à de nouveaux acteurs de la communication, plus nombreux et plus diversifiés : les laïcs. Par l'entremise des inscriptions, le français pénètre publiquement et durablement dans des espaces où il n'était qu'oral, ceux de la sphère religieuse, et modifie ainsi son statut sociolinguistique. / This dissertation examines twelfth-to-fourteenth-century inscriptions in the west of France in order to understand how language was used, both as an institution and as social practice. The theoretic background is drawn from linguistic trends such as discourse analysis and sociolinguistics, and as a result, it is situated at the intersection of history and linguistics. Inscriptions, as a form of written communication, present durable messages preserved in stone, glass, metal, wood... These epigraphic messages use specific linguistic and graphic means (codes) that may be understood as a type of "epigraphic discourse." The codes consist of brevity, formulae, deictic words, and the use of capital letters. At the same time, the authors of inscriptions demonstrate an aesthetic and pragmatic use of rhetorical figures. Latin is the predominant language. However, a few noteworthy examples of inscriptions in French begin to appear in the twelfth century. The use of French for inscriptions becomes a widespread phenomenon from the second half of the thirteenth century onwards, but Latin does not disappear. At first, only a few words of an inscription are in French. Then, the vernacular is used for the entire text. This linguistic shift from Latin to French suggests the introduction of new actors in written communication: lay people. As the use of French for inscriptions increased, vernacular epigraphic texts begin to appear in ecclesiastical spaces, where the vernacular had only been used orally. Epigraphy allowed for sustainable exhibition of the vernacular language and, thus, provided French with a prestige that increased the language's perceived sociolinguistic status.

Toute la population du Rwanda parle une même langue, le kinyarwanda, à la fois langue nationale et officielle. Cette homogénéité linguistique « de surface » se présente comme l’arbre qui cache la forêt d’une relative diversité linguistique « en profondeur » (dialectes, langues africaines et européennes en présence). L’heure n’est pas encore au chaos, mais l’adoption du trilinguisme officielle en 1996 [(kinyarwanda-français-anglais) impose, plus que par le passé, la définition d’une politique de gestion de la situation sociolinguistique du Rwanda, notamment par la détermination claire, par une loi linguistique, des fonctions des langues officielles dans les différents domaines, pour régler les problèmes qui se posent depuis le bilinguisme kinyarwanda-français adopté vers les années 1930. Les problèmes linguistiques et sociolinguistiques intéressent diverses catégories de personnes depuis le début du 20ème siècle. Cependant, la question de l’utilisation des langues dans les différents domaines et de leur connaissance approximative reste entièrement posée. Ce travail analyse les politiques linguistiques appliquées au Rwanda jusqu’à ce jour pour en dégager les enjeux et en établir le bilan afin de proposer de nouvelles stratégies de gestion de la situation sociolinguistique du Rwanda. Il s’agit en effet d’une politologie linguistique qui s’inscrit dans le cadre théorique et conceptuel déjà très rodé et dont l’efficacité a pu être testée sur le terrain dans différents pays ; cadre théorique qui est emprunté pour l’essentiel au linguiste québécois Jean-Claude Corbeil. Il est enrichi des analyses d’autres auteurs comme Robert Chaudenson, Louis-Jean Calvet, Loïc Depecker, Henri Boyer, etc. sur le concept d’aménagement linguistique et sur des situations concrètes. L’étude s’appuie à la fois sur une recherche documentaire minutieuse, une enquête de terrain qui a été effectuée au Rwanda auprès des diverses catégories de personnes et quelques entretiens informels avec certains intervenants en matière d’aménagement linguistique (linguistes et décideurs). / The whole population of Rwanda speaks the same language, Kinyarwanda, which is both the national and official language. This “surface” linguistic homogeneity is seen as a tree that hides a forest of a relatively “in depth” linguistic diversity (dialects, African and European languages). It is not yet time for chaos but the adoption of official trilingualism (Kinyarwanda-French-English) requires more than ever before the definition of the policy of managing the sociolinguistic situation of Rwanda, namely by clear determination, by a linguistic law, of the roles of official languages in various areas in order to solve the problems that have remained unanswered since the adoption of Kinyarwanda-French bilingualism in the 1930’s. From early the 20th century, the linguistic and sociolinguistic issues have interested various researchers. However, the question of the use of languages in various domains and their approximate mastery is still posed. This work analyses the linguistic policies that have been adopted in Rwanda with aim to bring out the stakes and assess the situation geared towards suggesting the new management strategies of the sociolinguistic situation of Rwanda. This is indeed a linguistic “politology” which falls within the theoretical and conceptual framework already explored whose efficiency has been tested on the ground in different countries. The theoretical framework has essentially been borrowed from the Quebec linguist Jean-Claude Corbeil. It is enriched with analyses of such other authors as Robert Chaudenson, Louis- Jean Calvet, Loïc Depecker, Henri Boyer, etc. on the concept of language planning and concrete situations. The study is based on both a meticulous documentary research and field work that have been carried out in Rwanda with various categories of people and some informal interviews with some stakeholders in language policy and planning [linguists and decision-makers].

This thesis will deal with the project to support German Language in the Czech Republic known as "Šprechtíme". In the context of Czech language policy of the past two decades the author focuses first on the questions related to the creation, formation and promotion of the project. The author also aims to determine whether the project got into the subconscious of the Czech public (Prague and the border region) and whether it fulfilled the expectations of its creators. In this thesis both methods of qualitative and quantitative research (Interview, written questionnaires) will be used. Key words: German, sociolinguistic, multilingualism, language policy, "Šprechtíme", quantitative research, qualitative research

Using an applied anthropological approach focused on language, this study investigates the relationship between linguistic, racial, and ethnic identities and school resource access in the context of migration. This project examines how these identities are established, experienced, reified, and resisted by various school actors. Exposing power at its roots through a multi-level analysis, this research informs on how people negotiate socialization into particular identities, propelling them toward positions in school and society of varying opportunity. Focused on two elementary schools in a central Florida county that has been and is undergoing demographic changes, this work offers applications for educational institutions dealing with migration. One school’s orientation to meeting needs of non-English speaking students significantly impacts its ability to reach and form relationships with parents and improve the educational outcomes for children. The second school’s culturally responsivity makes it possible to meet higher expectations. At both schools, there is a disconnect between how the school and state think about people and how those people think about themselves, which erases groups and raises questions about how well students from those groups are served. While the ideologies promoted in dominant society are constraining, struggles and resistance do impact and reorganize the system. This study provides recommendations for the research site and similar schools to address linguistic, racial, and ethnic educational inequity. For instance, this project emphasizes the need to provide linguistically appropriate school-home communication. It also offers a means for the schools and state to better serve students by understanding the nuances of identity through more appropriate measures of race and ethnicity.

Masters of Art / Meaning in human relations has always been based on inferred similarities (Holyoak & Thagard,1995). We are quick to liken the new to an old type. In this study, South African bi- or multilingual citizens post-1994 are perceived to hold the same ethno-linguistic perceptions as their progenitors. This explains the growing amount of literature on bilingual language ideology which is dissected upon the language attitude and space table. Following the same line but from a different perspective, Rampton (1995, 1999, 2003) discusses the relativity involved in labelling a bi- or multilingual repertoire. He suggests that the performative act of a bilingual through his/her linguistic repertoire should be structured according to expertise (instrumental), affiliation(integration) or inheritance (ethnicity). Starting with a note on the attitudinal myth, and closing with possible implications for various educational strata, the research explores Rampton’s notions in a rapidly changing educational context and proposes a revised understanding of ‘appellation’ as a complementary concept, an agentive and non-essentialist form of approaching bi- or multilingual identity enactment. It asserts that each enactment is informed by and carries an element of one or all the other facets of the bi-or multilingual multiply identity. Central to the study’s argument is that a bi-or multilingual is not oblivious of the socio-cultural elements that come with each linguistic capital. So, while earlier literature on identity views appellation as ‘other- ascribed’ identity, this study defines appellation as the construction of ‘self’ using all the elements provided by one’s linguistic basket.Further, with its innovative use of spoken interactional data, the study is able to contribute to the ongoing research on the appropriate medium of instruction in the South African educational system. With a special focus on the primary stage, the study sheds light on the fluidity of bi- or multilingual identity formation and enactment inside and outside the classroom. It uses an analytical framework based on Conversation Analysis, the Ethnography of Speaking, Systemic Functional Linguistics, and Critical Discourse Analysis to test the fit of Rampton’s original categories of inheritance, expertise, and affiliation with learners’ actual conversations.In all, the study in a linguistically substantiated stance, argues for more situated perspectives on the mother tongue based educational policy.

(in English) The aim of this diploma thesis is to describe the current state of passive bilingualism on the Iberian Peninsula, from the point of view of native monolingual Spanish speakers in contact with Galician, Catalan, Basque, and Portuguese langauges. The thesis consists of two parts - theoretical and practical. In the theoretical part, it tries to describe bilingualism, its perception throughout history and other concepts that are directly related to it in a comprehensive way. The key topic which is analysed is, however, receptive/passive bilingualism. For better context, it also focuses on the sociolinguistic development of the (co)official languages of the Iberian Peninsula from a diachronic perspective and, concurrently, language policy involved. In the practical part, it establishes the hypothesis which is later being demonstrated on the results of the original internet survey. Later on, proceeds to comment and evaluate them.