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<p>In order to facilitate comprehensibility and translation, the language used in software user documentation must be standardized. If the terminology and language rules are standardized and consistent, the time and cost of translation will be reduced. For this reason, controlled languages have been developed. Controlled languages are subsets of other languages, purposely limited by restricting the terminology and grammar that is allowed.</p><p>The purpose and goal of this thesis is to investigate how using a controlled language can improve comprehensibility and translatability of software user documentation written in English. In order to reach our goal, we have performed a case study at IFS AB. We specify a number of research questions that help satisfy some of the goals of IFS and, when generalized, fulfill the goal of this thesis.</p><p>A major result of our case study is a list of sixteen controlled language rules. Some examples of these rules are control of the maximum allowed number of words in a sentence, and control of when the author is allowed to use past participles. We have based our controlled language rules on existing controlled languages, style guides, research reports, and the opinions of technical writers at IFS.</p><p>When we applied these rules to different user documentation texts at IFS, we managed to increase the readability score for each of the texts. Also, during an assessment test of readability and translatability, the rewritten versions were chosen in 85 % of the cases by experienced technical writers at IFS.</p><p>Another result of our case study is a prototype application that shows that it is possible to develop and use a software checker for helping the authors when writing documentation according to our suggested controlled language rules.</p>

There has been much philosophical debate about whether the meaning of pictures can be analysed using theoretical frameworks normally employed within philosophy of language. A specific question within this debate is the question of whether pictures can express propositions. Instead of addressing this question in of pictures in a broad sense, this essay focuses on a specific category of pictures referred to as pictorial signs. These signs constitute a pictorial form of communication that we use in our everyday lives. The question of whether pictorial signs can express propositions should, because of this communicative use, be more approachable than the same question applied to pictures in general. While a standard approach to the question has been to investigate the extent to which pictures may share some syntactic or semantic features with natural language, the approach in this essay is instead to look at how pictorial signs are used. The suggested strategy is to approach the question of propositionality by attempting to translate a particular sign into some sentence in natural language on the basis of how the sign is used, rather than analysing its structure.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:39:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Damian Jose Kraus.pdf: 377956 bytes, checksum: aef29303ff2833b708e93f844435bc75 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-04-16 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This thesis intends to outline a problem of translatability as an exercise of individuation based on the concept found in the works by Deleuze & Guattari, particularly, the book Mille Plateaux. This translatability is pragmatically located in the in-between of the Spanish and Portuguese languages a tension of siamese tongues. This work is composed, first of all, of a thematic Introduction, with the addition of a preliminary approach in the manner of short Essays. Subsequently, it unfolds through three blocks: the first block highlights the intensification of this convergence of sister languages, from where the denominated pure language emerges. The second block is an exercise of investigative intervention in this convergence, which is proposed as exercise of individuation. The third block is geared to the intensity that comes from such exercise, as a procedure of nomadic thought. It is important to mention that this thesis will be linked to the notion of state of translation, elaborated by the author in his master s thesis, which has provided theoretical and methodological elements for the development of this work / Esta tese visa delimitar um problema da traduzibilidade, como exercício de individuação, a partir desse conceito situável na obra de Deleuze & Guattari, em particular, em Mille Plateaux. Tal traduzibilidade está localizada pragmaticamente no entre-lugar das línguas portuguesa e castelhana uma tensão de línguas siamesas. A tese se compõe, em primeiro lugar, de uma Introdução temática, com o acréscimo de uma primeira aproximação a modo de pequenos Ensaios. Posteriormente, desenrola-se em três blocos ou devires: O primeiro bloco destaca a intensificação desse encontro de línguas siamesas, donde emerge o que se designa como língua pura. O segundo bloco é um exercício de intervenção investigativa nesse encontro, que se propõe como exercício de individuação. No terceiro bloco, aponta-se para a intensidade emanada de tal exercício, como procedimento de um pensamento nômade. Cabe esclarecer sucintamente que se conectará esta tese à noção de estado de tradução, construída pelo autor na dissertação de mestrado, que forneceu elementos teóricos e metodológicos para desenvolver este trabalho

Esta dissertação reserva-se à analise do conceito de intradutibilidade presente na teoria da linguagem desenvolvida por John Locke, no Livro III, das palavras, de seu Ensaio sobre o entendimento humano, de 1690. Essa teoria visa rejeitar conceitos em voga no séc. XVII, especialmente o inatismo, advogando em favor do argumento de que o entendimento é adquirido por meio da experiência sensorial, sendo esta particular a cada indivíduo. Nesse sentido, a forma como as ideias são apreendidas na mente de cada indivíduo é também particular; a linguagem, portanto, é vista pelo autor como o instrumento responsável por socializar essas ideias particulares e permitir a comunicação. Entretanto, somada à crítica ao inatismo, Locke, no Livro III, questiona i. o emprego abusivo das palavras no contexto científico, ao elencar uma série de ações realizadas por debatedores para impressionar seu ouvinte muito mais do que transmitir um conhecimento e refletir sobre a Verdade e ii. a natureza imperfeita das palavras que compõem a linguagem especialmente devido ao seu comportamento arbitrário, ou seja, sua relação com as ideias que devem representar não é natural, mas imposta pelo homem. Ademais, Locke afirma, também como contraposição às discussões da época, haver duas essências: a nominal, acessível à nossa apreensão e delimitada pelas palavras, e a real, cuja totalidade é inapreensível pela experiência e, por extensão, pelas palavras. Assim, ao defender a intradutibilidade, argumenta em favor de um novo método de investigação filosófica, que leva em consideração a particularidade do falante, a arbitrariedade na relação entre as palavras e as ideias e a impossibilidade de 7 se acessar a realidade em sua totalidade. A afirmação da intradutibilidade não exclui a prática da tradução, reconhecida por John Locke no mesmo livro III, defende apenas o supracitado. Por isso, esta dissertação também apresenta uma tradução desse Livro III para uma demonstração prática da teoria predicada por esse autor e uma reflexão das escolhas realizadas no intuito de adequar-se aos argumentos levantados e analisados ao longo de toda a dissertação. / It is intended to analyse the concept of translatability in John Lockes theory of language, which is developed in the Book III, of words, of his Essay concerning human understanding, in 1690. He rejects the 17th century scholars and the inatism theory claiming that the knowledge is apprehended by sense experiences, which are particular to each one. Hence the ideas are also particular, the language, by that means, is the main instrument used by the humans to convey their thoughts and whose chief end is communication. Locke also rejects other two things: i. the abuse of words causing obscure discourses whose only purpose is to impress the hearer, not to present the truth and ii. the imperfection inherent to the nature of words, because its relation to the ideas is arbitrary and not based on any pattern in nature. Thus, Locke arguments that there are two types of essences: a nominal defined by words and a real, which is impossible to describe, because we have only access to reality through our senses. By defending intranslatability Locke is actually defending a new philosophical method which includes the fact that language is particular to each speaker, the arbitrary relation between words and ideas and the impossibility to comprehend thoroughly reality. However it does not excludes translation itself, recognized by Locke in the same Book III; translating it portrays his theory and proposes a debate concerning the choices made to better convey his view.

<p>This essay deals with bilingualism and how affectionate feelings are expressed. There seems to be a difference in meaning between the English phrase I love you and the corresponding Swedish jag älskar dig, where the English phrase is used more frequently and casually than the Swedish phrase. In this paper, affective emotions in Swedish-English bilingualism is examined on two levels: 1) the expression of affectionate feelings in general and 2) the translatability and meaning of I love you and jag älskar dig.</p><p>A qualitative study, with the purpose to investigate how two groups of Swedish-English bilinguals experience meaning and translatability in their affective repertoires, was carried out. 25 people participated in the study, of whom those in the first group are L1 speakers of English who have acquired Swedish as a second language, and those in the second are L1 speakers of both English and Swedish with at least one parent from an English-speaking country. The results of the study were compared with results derived from previous research on language and emotion and bilingualism. Furthermore, a few professional translators were interviewed about the translatability of I love you and jag älskar dig.</p><p>The results from the study show a tendency for late learners of Swedish to use English rather than Swedish when expressing affection, while the childhood bilinguals of both Swedish and English show a general preference for Swedish. However, respondents show a high degree of accommodation; they choose their language based on the L1 or preferred language of the interlocutor. A vast majority in both groups reported experiencing feelings of affection to be expressed differently in their English-speaking culture compared to the Swedish culture. A majority of respondents in the first group do not experience a difference in meaning between I love you and jag älskar dig, while a majority in the second group, with both Swedish and English as L1, do. The results from the study cannot be claimed to account for more than the experiences and opinions of the 25 respondents, but correspond with previous research results within the fields of language and emotion and bilingualism.</p>

<p>Understanding technical documentation is of vital importance, since instructions and descriptions are given about how technical products are used, maintained and repaired. Because of the increased economic globalization, more and more documentation is both written in English by non-native English writers, and delivered to non-native English readers. More and more documentation is also translated by means of computerized aids. In order to improve comprehension and translatability of technical documentation, controlled languages are created. Controlled languages are subsets of ordinary languages, but with restricted vocabularies and writing rules.</p><p>The aim of this report is to discuss the advantages and disadvantages for Swedish export companies to use Simplified Technical English (STE), which is a controlled language, for their technical documentation. In this work technical writers are asked about their opinions of STE. Additionally, technical texts written in traditional English are compared with versions written in STE, in order to find out whether texts written in a controlled language are easier to read or not. Within the comparison, the differences between the versions are discussed and a readability measurement is done. The measurement showed that readability in technical documentation is improved by using STE. The writers’ opinions are illuminated in three areas, which are: higher documentation quality, reduced translation costs and reduced production costs.</p>

This essay deals with bilingualism and how affectionate feelings are expressed. There seems to be a difference in meaning between the English phrase I love you and the corresponding Swedish jag älskar dig, where the English phrase is used more frequently and casually than the Swedish phrase. In this paper, affective emotions in Swedish-English bilingualism is examined on two levels: 1) the expression of affectionate feelings in general and 2) the translatability and meaning of I love you and jag älskar dig. A qualitative study, with the purpose to investigate how two groups of Swedish-English bilinguals experience meaning and translatability in their affective repertoires, was carried out. 25 people participated in the study, of whom those in the first group are L1 speakers of English who have acquired Swedish as a second language, and those in the second are L1 speakers of both English and Swedish with at least one parent from an English-speaking country. The results of the study were compared with results derived from previous research on language and emotion and bilingualism. Furthermore, a few professional translators were interviewed about the translatability of I love you and jag älskar dig. The results from the study show a tendency for late learners of Swedish to use English rather than Swedish when expressing affection, while the childhood bilinguals of both Swedish and English show a general preference for Swedish. However, respondents show a high degree of accommodation; they choose their language based on the L1 or preferred language of the interlocutor. A vast majority in both groups reported experiencing feelings of affection to be expressed differently in their English-speaking culture compared to the Swedish culture. A majority of respondents in the first group do not experience a difference in meaning between I love you and jag älskar dig, while a majority in the second group, with both Swedish and English as L1, do. The results from the study cannot be claimed to account for more than the experiences and opinions of the 25 respondents, but correspond with previous research results within the fields of language and emotion and bilingualism.

Esta dissertação reserva-se à analise do conceito de intradutibilidade presente na teoria da linguagem desenvolvida por John Locke, no Livro III, das palavras, de seu Ensaio sobre o entendimento humano, de 1690. Essa teoria visa rejeitar conceitos em voga no séc. XVII, especialmente o inatismo, advogando em favor do argumento de que o entendimento é adquirido por meio da experiência sensorial, sendo esta particular a cada indivíduo. Nesse sentido, a forma como as ideias são apreendidas na mente de cada indivíduo é também particular; a linguagem, portanto, é vista pelo autor como o instrumento responsável por socializar essas ideias particulares e permitir a comunicação. Entretanto, somada à crítica ao inatismo, Locke, no Livro III, questiona i. o emprego abusivo das palavras no contexto científico, ao elencar uma série de ações realizadas por debatedores para impressionar seu ouvinte muito mais do que transmitir um conhecimento e refletir sobre a Verdade e ii. a natureza imperfeita das palavras que compõem a linguagem especialmente devido ao seu comportamento arbitrário, ou seja, sua relação com as ideias que devem representar não é natural, mas imposta pelo homem. Ademais, Locke afirma, também como contraposição às discussões da época, haver duas essências: a nominal, acessível à nossa apreensão e delimitada pelas palavras, e a real, cuja totalidade é inapreensível pela experiência e, por extensão, pelas palavras. Assim, ao defender a intradutibilidade, argumenta em favor de um novo método de investigação filosófica, que leva em consideração a particularidade do falante, a arbitrariedade na relação entre as palavras e as ideias e a impossibilidade de 7 se acessar a realidade em sua totalidade. A afirmação da intradutibilidade não exclui a prática da tradução, reconhecida por John Locke no mesmo livro III, defende apenas o supracitado. Por isso, esta dissertação também apresenta uma tradução desse Livro III para uma demonstração prática da teoria predicada por esse autor e uma reflexão das escolhas realizadas no intuito de adequar-se aos argumentos levantados e analisados ao longo de toda a dissertação. / It is intended to analyse the concept of translatability in John Lockes theory of language, which is developed in the Book III, of words, of his Essay concerning human understanding, in 1690. He rejects the 17th century scholars and the inatism theory claiming that the knowledge is apprehended by sense experiences, which are particular to each one. Hence the ideas are also particular, the language, by that means, is the main instrument used by the humans to convey their thoughts and whose chief end is communication. Locke also rejects other two things: i. the abuse of words causing obscure discourses whose only purpose is to impress the hearer, not to present the truth and ii. the imperfection inherent to the nature of words, because its relation to the ideas is arbitrary and not based on any pattern in nature. Thus, Locke arguments that there are two types of essences: a nominal defined by words and a real, which is impossible to describe, because we have only access to reality through our senses. By defending intranslatability Locke is actually defending a new philosophical method which includes the fact that language is particular to each speaker, the arbitrary relation between words and ideas and the impossibility to comprehend thoroughly reality. However it does not excludes translation itself, recognized by Locke in the same Book III; translating it portrays his theory and proposes a debate concerning the choices made to better convey his view.