Topic- and mode-sensitive interaction strategies : Functions of ellipsis in oral communication

In this article, we discuss ellipsis as an interactive strategy by analysing the author’s textchat corpus and the VOICE corpus of English as a Lingua Franca. It is found that there were fewer repetitions in the textchat data, and this is explained as a consequence of the textchat mode. Textchat contributions are preserved as long as the chat is active or has been saved, and therefore users can scroll through and review the discussion, compared to the more fleeting nature of oral conversation. As a result, repetition is less necessary. The frequency of other functions identified could be attributed to the topic of discourse. Discussions involve much ellipsis used to develop discourse, although some were self-presentations with repetition used to confirm details. Back-channel support and comments were often low because speakers instead used forms like yeah as supportive utterances.

La cortesía verbal : Un estudio contrastivo entre los saludos y peticiones en los idiomas sueco y español. Författare: Daisy

The purpose of this study is to examine the differences and similarities regarding verbal politeness in greetings and requests in Swedish and the Chilean variety of Spanish. A survey with 12 questions, both open-ended and closed-ended, has been distributed to 20 native speakers of the two languages. Thus, the questions have been analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The results show that the perception that the Swedes and the Chileans have about verbal politeness is similar, since the speakers of both languages see it as a way to show respect towards others. The study also shows that Swedes and Chileans share a similar view upon politeness, i.e. as a social norm that facilitates social interaction between people.

Malungsbors historiebruk : Kollektivt användande av historia i det offentliga

Denna uppsats diskuterar hur invånare i Malung använder historia kollektivt i det offentliga. Det visar sig att invånarna i mångt och mycket använder historia för att markera en Guldålder där orten Malung i Sverige en gång var ett blomstrande industrisamhälle, idag ett minne blott. Användning av historia i Malung visar sig vara en önskan att återvända till den tid då orten var ledande i landet inom skinn-, päls- och kvarnstensindustrin. Men det är inte inom skinn, päls och kvarnstenstillverkning som återskapandet av det förflutna syns, utan i andra mer generella historiska och vardagsnära områdena såsom vävning, malning och bakning, där en mer allmän historia eftersträvas. Skinn-, päls- och kvarnstensindustrin återfinns således inte som grund för en identitet när det gäller historiebruk i Malung.