Mauwake reference grammar

This dissertation provides a synchronic grammatical description of Mauwake, a Papuan (Trans-New Guinea) language of about 2000 speakers on the North Coast of the Madang Province in Papua New Guinea. The theoretical background is that of Basic Linguistic Theory (BLT), used extensively in analysing and writing descriptive grammars. The chapters from morphology to clause level are described from form to function; in the later chapters the function is taken more often as the starting point. Any theory-specific terminology is kept to the minimum and formalisms have been avoided in accordance with BLT principles. Mauwake has a classic 5-vowel system and 14 consonant phonemes. With its simple phonology it is a typical representative of the Madang North Coast languages. For a Papuan language there are relatively few morphophonological alternations. Nouns are either alienably or inalienably possessed. There is no obligatory number marking in nouns or noun phrases. Pronouns have several different forms: five for case and three for other functions. The dative pronouns are treated as [+human] locatives, and they have also grammaticalised as possessives. The verbal morphology is agglutinative and mainly suffixal. Unusual features include two distributive suffixes, and the interaction of the derivational benefactive and the inflectional beneficiary suffixes. The applicative suffix has either transitivising or causative but not benefactive function. The switch-reference system distinguishes between simultaneous and sequential action, as well as same or different subject in relation to the following clause. There are several verbs denoting coming and going, and they may combine with one of three prefixes to indicate bringing and taking. Mauwake is a nominative-accusative type language, and the basic constituent order in a clause is SOV. Subject and object are the only syntactic arguments. There is no indirect object, but a clause can have two or even three objects. A nominalised clause with a finite verb functions as a relative clause or a complement clause; one with a nominalised verb has several different functions. Functional domains described include modality, negation, deixis, quantification, possession and comparison. As there are four negators, Mauwake has more variation in negative expressions than is usual in Papuan languages. Clause chaining is the preferred strategy for joining clauses into sentences, but coordination and subordination of finite clauses are also common. The form of a complement clause depends on whether it is of the fact, action or potential type. Tail-head linkage is used as a cohesive device between sentences. The discourse-level features described are topic and focus.

Edistys ja yhteinen hyvä vapaudenajan ruotsalaisessa poliittisessa kielessä

This dissertation analyses the notions of progress and common good in Swedish political language during the Age of Liberty (1719 1772). The method used is conceptual analysis, but this study is also a contribution to the history of political ideas and political culture, aiming at a broader understanding of how the bounds of political community were conceptualised and represented in eighteenth-century Sweden. The research is based on the official documents of the regime, such as the fundamental laws and the solemn speeches made at the opening and closing of the Diet, on normative or alternative descriptions of society such as history works and economic literature, and on practical political writings by the Diet and its members. The rhetoric of common good and particular interest is thus examined both in its consensual and theoretical contexts and in practical politics. Central political issues addressed include the extent of economic liberties, the question of freedom to print, the meaning of privilege, the position of particular estates or social groups and the economic interests of particular areas or persons. This research shows that the modern Swedish word for progress (framsteg) was still only rarely used in the eighteenth century, while the notion of progress, growth and success existed in a variety of closely related terms and metaphorical expressions. The more traditional concept of common good (allmänna bästa) was used in several variants, some of which explicitly related to utility and interest. The combination of public utility and private interest in political discourse challenged traditional ideals of political morality, where virtue had been the fundament of common good. The progress of society was also presented as being linked to the progress of liberty, knowledge and wealth in a way that can be described as characteristic of the Age of Enlightenment but which also points at the appearance of early liberal thought.

Vilijonkka ikkunassa - Tove Janssonin muumiteosten kuva, sana ja liike

Tove Jansson (1914--2001) was a Finnish illustrator, author, artist, caricaturist and comic artist. She is best known for her Moomin Books, written in Swedish, which she illustrated herself, and published between 1945 and 1977. My study focuses on the interweaving of images and words in Jansson s picturebooks, novels and short stories situated in the fantasy world of Moomin Valley. In particular, it concentrates on Jansson s development of a special kind of aesthetics of movement and stasis, based upon both illustration and text. The conventions of picturebook art and illustration are significant to both Jansson s visual art and her writing, and she was acutely conscious of them. My analysis of Jansson s work begins by discussing her first published picturebooks and less familiar illustrations (before she began her Moomin books) and I then proceed to discuss her three Moomin picturebooks, The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My; Who Will Comfort Toffle?, and The Dangerous Journey. The discussion moves from images to words and from words to images: Barthes s (1982) concept of anchoring and, in particular, what he calls relaying , form a point of reading and viewing Moomin texts and illustrations in a complementary relation, in which the message s unity occurs on a higher level: that of the story, the anecdote, the diegesis . The eight illustrated Moomin novels and one collection of short stories are analysed in a similar manner, taking into account the academic discourse about picturebooks which was developed in the last decade of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st century by, among others, scholars such as Nodelman, Rhedin, Doonan, Thiele, Stephens, Lewis, Nikolajeva and Scott. In her Moomin books, Jansson uses a wide variety of narrative and illustrative styles which are complementary to each other. Each book is different and unique in its own way, but a certain development or progression of mood and representation can be seen when assessing the series as a whole. Jansson s early stories are happy and adventurous but her later Moomin novels, beginning from Moominland Midwinter, focus more on the interiority of the characters, placing them in difficult situations which approximate social reality. This orientation is also reflected in the representation of movement and space. The books which were published first include more obviously descriptive passages, exemplifying the tradition of literary pictorialism. Whereas in Jansson s later work, the space develops into something that is alive which can have an enduring effect on the characters personalities and behaviour. This study shows how the idea of an image a dynamic image -- forms a holistic foundation for Jansson s imagination and work. The idea of central perspective, or frame, for instance, provided inspiration for whole stories or in the way that she developed her characters, as in the case of the Fillyjonk, who is a complex female figure, simultaneously frantic and prim. The idea of movement is central to the narrative art of picturebooks and illustrated texts, particularly in relation to the way that action is depicted. Jansson, however, also develops a specific choreography of characters in which poses and postures signify action, feelings and relationships. Here, I use two ideas from modern dance, contraction and release (Graham), to characterise the language of movement which is evident in Jansson s words and images. In Jansson s final Moomin novels and short stories, the idea of space becomes more and more dynamic and closely linked with characterisation. My study also examines a number of Jansson s early sketches for her Moomin novels, in which movement is performed much more dramatically than in those illustrations which appeared in the last novels to be published.

Hallinnon lehdistötiedotteiden kieli

This study seeks to answer the question of what the language of administrative press releases is like, and how and why it has changed over the past few decades. The theoretical basis of the study is provided by critical text analysis, supplemented with, e.g., the metafunction theory of Systemic Functional Grammar, the theory of poetic function, and Finnish research into syntax. The data includes 83 press releases by the City of Helsinki Public Works Department, 14 of which were written between 1979 and 1980 (old press releases), and 69 of which were written between 1998 and 1999 (new press releases). The analysis focuses on the linguistic characteristics of the releases, their changes and variation, their relation to other texts and the extra linguistic context, as well as their genre. The core research method is linguistic text analysis. It is supplemented with an analysis of the communicative environment, based on the authors' interviews and written documents. The results can be applied to the improvement of texts produced by the authorities and even by other organizations. The linguistic analysis focuses on features that transform the texts in the data making them guiding, detailed, and poetic. The releases guide the residents of the city using modal verbal expressions and performative verbs that enable the mass media to publish the guiding expressions on their own behalf as such. The guiding is more persuasive in the new press releases than in the old ones, and the new ones also include imperative clauses and verbless directives that construct direct interaction. The language of the releases is made concrete and structurally detailed by, e.g., concrete vocabulary, proper nouns and terms, as well as definitions, adverbials and comparisons, which are used specifically to present places and administrative organizations in detail. The rhetorical features in the releases include alliteration and metaphors, which are found in the new releases especially in the titles. The emphasized features are used to draw the readers' attention and to highlight the core contents of the texts. The new releases also include words that are colloquial in style, making the communicative situations less official. Structurally, the releases have changed from being letter-like to a more newsflash-like format. The changes in the releases can be explained by the development towards more professional communications and the more market-oriented ideology adopted in the communicative environment. Key words: change in administrative language, press releases, critical text analysis, linguistic text analysis

Koulukasvatusta teknologisoituvaan yhteiskuntaan : Kansakoulun opetussuunnitelman rakentuminen, 1945-1952

Education for a Technological Society. Public School Curriculum Construction, 1945-1952. The subject of my research is the significance of technology in the construction process of the public school curriculum during the years 1945-1952. During the period the war reparation and rebuilding placed demands and actions to rationalise and dramatise industry and agriculture. Thereby the ambitions of building a technological country and the reformation of curriculum took place simultaneously. Fordistian terms of reference, of which the principles were mass production, rationalisation and standardisation, a hierarchical division of labour and partition of assignments, provided a model for the developing curriculum. In the research the curriculum is examined as an artefact, which shapes socio-technically under the influence of social and technical factors. In the perspective of socio-technical construction the artefact is represented by the viewpoints of members of relevant social groups. The groups give meaning to the curriculum artefact, which determines the components of the curriculum. The weakness of the curriculum was its ineffectiveness, which was due to three critical problems. Firstly, the curriculum was to be based on scientific work, which meant the development of schools through experiments and scientific research. Secondly, the civilised conseption in the curriculum was to be composed of theoretical knowledge, as well as practical skills. Practical education was useful for both the individual and society. Thirdly, the curriculum was to be reformed in a way that the individuality of the pupil would be taken into account. It was useful for the society that talents and natural abilities of every pupil were observed and used to direct the pupil to the proper place in the social division of labour, according to the "right man in a right place" principle. The solutions to critical problems formed the instructions of the public school curriculum, which described the nature and content of education. Technology and its development were on essential part of the whole school curriculum process. The quality words connected to the development of technology - progress, rationality and effectiveness - were also suitable qualifiers and reasons for the reform of the curriculum. On the other hand, technology set a point of comparison and demand for the development of all phases of education. The view of technology was not clearly deterministic - it was also possible to shape technological society with the help of education. The public school curriculum process indicates how originally the principles of technological systems were shaped to the language of education and accepted in educational content.

Q-evankeliumi ja psykohistoria : Uuden testamentin eksegetiikan väitöskirja

In the course of my research for my thesis The Q Gospel and Psychohistory, I moved on from the accounts of the Cynics ideals to psychohistorical explanations. Studying the texts dealing with the Cynics and the Q Gospel, I was amazed by the fact that these texts actually portrayed people living in greater poverty than they had to. I paid particular attention to the fact that the Q Gospel was born in traumatising, warlike circumstances. Psychiatric traumatology helped me understand the Q Gospel and other ancient documents using historical approaches in a way that would comply with modern behavioural science. Even though I found some answers to the questions I had posed in my research, the main result of my research work is the justification of the question: Is it important to ask whether there is a connection between the ethos expressed by means of the religious language of the Q Gospel and the predominantly war-related life experiences typical to Palestine at the time. As has been convincingly revealed by a number of studies, traumatic events contribute to the development of psychotic experiences. I approached the problematic nature, significance and complexity of the ideal of poverty and this warlike environment by clarifying the history of psychohistorical literary research and the interpretative contexts associated with Sigmund Freud, Jacques Lacan and Melanie Klein. It is justifiable to question abnormal mentality, but there is no reliable return from the abnormal mentality described in any particular text to the only affecting factor. The popular research tendency based on the Oedipus complex is just as controversial as the Oedipus complex itself. The sociological frameworks concerning moral panics and political paranoia of an outer and inner danger fit quite well with the construction of the Q Gospel. Jerrold M. Post, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Political Psychology and Interna-tional Affairs at George Washington University, and founder and director of the Center for the Analysis of Personality and Political Behavior for the Central Intelligence Agency, has focused on the role played by charisma in the attracting of followers and detailed the psychological styles of a "charismatic" leader. He wrote the books Political Paranoia and Leaders and Their Followers in a Dangerous World: the Psychology of Political Behavior among others. His psychoanalytic vocabulary was useful for my understanding of the minds and motivations involved in the Q Gospel s formation. The Q sect began to live in a predestined future, with the reality and safety of this world having collapsed in both their experience and their fantasies. The deep and clear-cut divisions into good and evil that are expressed in the Q Gospel reveal the powerful nature of destructive impulses, envy and overwhelming anxiety. Responsible people who influenced the Q Gospel's origination tried to mount an ascetic defense against anxiety, denying their own needs, focusing their efforts on another objective (God s Kingdom) and a regressive, submissive earlier phase of development (a child s carelessness). This spiritual process was primarily an ecclesiastic or group-dynamical tactic to give support to the power of group leaders.

Consumption in Rural Bangladesh : Households, Lifestyles, and Identities

Bangladesh, often better known to the outside world as a country of natural calamities, is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Despite rapid urbanization, more than 75% of the people still live in rural areas. The density of the rural population is also one of the highest in the world. Being a poor and low-income country, its main challenge is to eradicate poverty through increasing equitable income. Since its independence in 1971, Bangladesh has experienced many ups and downs, but over the past three decades, its gross domestic product (GDP) has grown at an impressive rate. Consequently, the country s economy is developing and the country has outperformed many low-income countries in terms of several social indicators. Bangladesh has achieved the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary school enrollment. A sharp decline in child and infant mortality rates, increased per capita income, and improved food security have placed Bangladesh on the track to achieving in the near future the status of a middle-income country. All these developments have influenced the consumption pattern of the country. This study explores the consumption scenario of rural Bangladesh, its changing consumption patterns, the relationship between technology and consumption in rural Bangladesh, cultural consumption in rural Bangladesh, and the myriad reasons why consumers nevertheless feel compelled to consume chemically treated foods. Data were collected in two phases in the summers of 2006 and 2008. In 2006, the empirical data were collected from the following three sources: interviews with consumers, producers/sellers, and doctors and pharmacists; observations of sellers/producers; and reviews of articles published in the national English and Bengali (the national language of Bangladesh) daily newspapers. A total of 110 consumers, 25 sellers/producers, 7 doctors, and 7 pharmacists were interviewed and observed. In 2008, data were collected through semi-structured in-depth qualitative interviews, ethnography, and unstructured conversations substantiated by secondary sources and photographs; the total number of persons interviewed was 22. -- Data were also collected on the consumption of food, clothing, housing, education, medical facilities, marriage and dowry, the division of labor, household decision making, different festivals such as Eid (for Muslims), the Bengali New Year, and Durga puja (for Hindus), and leisure. Qualitative methods were applied to the data analysis and were supported by secondary quantitative data. The findings of this study suggest that the consumption patterns of rural Bangladeshis are changing over time along with economic and social development, and that technology has rendered aspects of daily life more convenient. This study identified the perceptions and experiences of rural people regarding technologies in use and explored how culture is associated with consumption. This study identified the reasons behind the use of hazardous chemicals (e.g. calcium carbide, sodium cyclamate, cyanide and formalin, etc.) in foods as well as the extent to which food producers/sellers used such chemicals. In addition, this study assessed consumer perceptions of and attitudes toward these contaminated food items and explored how adulterated foods and food stuffs affect consumer health. This study also showed that consumers were aware that various foods and food stuffs contained hazardous chemicals, and that these adulterated foods and food stuffs were harmful to their health.

Public opinion on useful languages in Europe

This article analyses the results of five Eurobarometer surveys (of 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2005) designed to measure which languages Europeans consider most useful to know. Most Europeans are of the opinion that English is the most useful, followed by French and German. During the last decade the popularity of French and German as useful languages has been decreasing significantly, while English has remained universally favoured as the most useful language. French and German have lost their popularity especially among those who do not speak them as a foreign language. On the other hand, Spanish, Russian and other languages (often these include languages of neighbouring countries, minority languages or a second official language of the country in question) have kept and even increased their former level of popularity. Opinions about useful languages vary according to a respondent’s knowledge of languages, education and profession. This article analyses these differences and discusses their impact on the study of foreign languages and the future of the practice of foreign languages in Europe.

Publishing for the Masses : Early Modern English Witchcraft Pamphlets

This study is a pragmatic description of the evolution of the genre of English witchcraft pamphlets from the mid-sixteenth century to the end of the seventeenth century. Witchcraft pamphlets were produced for a new kind of readership semi-literate, uneducated masses and the central hypothesis of this study is that publishing for the masses entailed rethinking the ways of writing and printing texts. Analysis of the use of typographical variation and illustrations indicates how printers and publishers catered to the tastes and expectations of this new audience. Analysis of the language of witchcraft pamphlets shows how pamphlet writers took into account the new readership by transforming formal written source materials trial proceedings into more immediate ways of writing. The material for this study comes from the Corpus of Early Modern English Witchcraft Pamphlets, which has been compiled by the author. The multidisciplinary analysis incorporates both visual and linguistic aspects of the texts, with methodologies and theoretical insights adopted eclectically from historical pragmatics, genre studies, book history, corpus linguistics, systemic functional linguistics and cognitive psychology. The findings are anchored in the socio-historical context of early modern publishing, reading, literacy and witchcraft beliefs. The study shows not only how consideration of a new audience by both authors and printers influenced the development of a genre, but also the value of combining visual and linguistic features in pragmatic analyses of texts.