Dialectal Speech in Literature and Translation : Bachelor Degree Thesis in English Linguistics

This essay studies how dialectal speech is reflected in written literature and how this phenomenon functions in translation. With this purpose in mind, Styron's Sophie's Choice and Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are analysed using samples of non-standard orthography which have been applied in order to reflect the dialect, or accent, of certain characters. In the same way, Lundgren's Swedish translation of Sophie's Choice and Ferres and Rolfe's Spanish version of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are analysed. The method consists of linguistically analysing a few text samples from each novel, establishing how dialect is represented through non-standard orthography, and thereafter, comparing the same samples with their translation into another language in order to establish whether dialectal features are visible also in the translated novels. It is concluded that non-standard orthography is applied in the novels in order to represent each possible linguistic level, including pronunciation, morphosyntax, and vocabulary. Furthermore, it is concluded that while Lundgren's translation intends to orthographically represent dialectal speech on most occasions where the original does so, Ferres and Rolfe's translation pays no attention to dialectology. The discussion following the data analysis establishes some possible reasons for the exclusion of dialectal features in the Spanish translation considered here. Finally, the reason for which this study contributes to the study of dialectology is declared.

Das Bildzitat Eine Untersuchung von Paul Klees Die Revolution des Viaduktes in drei Texten der deutschprachigen Prosa

Ziel dieser Arbeit ist die Untersuchung des Bildzitates und seiner Form. Ausgangspunkt ist ein Kunstwerk, Paul Klees Revolution der Viadukte, und dessen Versprachlichung, dem sognannten Bildzitat, in drei Texten der deutschen Prosa. Als literaturwissenschaftliche Methode wurde ein intermedialer Ansatz nach Rajewsky, sowie von Berndt, Tonger-Erk gewählt. Eine Auswahl des Kunstwerkes und der Texte, die das Kunstwerk zitieren, wurde basierend auf dem Material der Datenbank über literarische Bildzitate in Wien getroffen. Die Analyse der Bildzitate in SAID: Das Rot lächelt, das Blau schweigt. Geschichten über Bilder, Uwe Timm: Der Freund und der Fremde und Gertrud Leutenegger: Vorabend erfolgt nach folgender Fragestellung: 1. Welches sind die grundlegenden Charakteristika des Bildes, die in den literarischen Bildzitaten hervorgehoben werden? 2. Mit welchen sprachlichen Mitteln wird dies hervorgehoben? 3. Welche Rolle spielt der Titel des Gemäldes? Wie der Resultatteil zeigt werden von den Autoren Stilmittel ähnlich die des Gemäldes (Kontrast, Repetition) verwendet. Der Titel des Gemäldes und die Bildzitate werden im Text als verstärkendes Element verwendet. The pictorial quote An analysis of Paul Klees Revolution of the viaduct in three German prose texts. This essay explores the quotation of images in literature. Starting point is Paul Klee's painting The revolution of the viaduct and its verbal expression, which is known as 'image quotation', in three German prose texts. The textual analysis of these works - SAID's Das Rot lächelt,das Blau schweigt. Geschichten über Bilder, Uwe Timm's Der Freund und der Fremde and Gertrud Leutenegger's Vorabend - is based on theories of intermediality. This essay shows that the authors employ stylistic devices similar to those in the painting, such as contrast and repetition, and use them as intermedial references.

Response process and test-retest reliability of the Context Assessment for Community Health tool in Vietnam

BACKGROUND: The recently developed Context Assessment for Community Health (COACH) tool aims to measure aspects of the local healthcare context perceived to influence knowledge translation in low- and middle-income countries. The tool measures eight dimensions (organizational resources, community engagement, monitoring services for action, sources of knowledge, commitment to work, work culture, leadership, and informal payment) through 49 items. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to explore the understanding and stability of the COACH tool among health providers in Vietnam. DESIGNS: To investigate the response process, think-aloud interviews were undertaken with five community health workers, six nurses and midwives, and five physicians. Identified problems were classified according to Conrad and Blair's taxonomy and grouped according to an estimation of the magnitude of the problem's effect on the response data. Further, the stability of the tool was examined using a test-retest survey among 77 respondents. The reliability was analyzed for items (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and percent agreement) and dimensions (ICC and Bland-Altman plots). RESULTS: In general, the think-aloud interviews revealed that the COACH tool was perceived as clear, well organized, and easy to answer. Most items were understood as intended. However, seven prominent problems in the items were identified and the content of three dimensions was perceived to be of a sensitive nature. In the test-retest survey, two-thirds of the items and seven of eight dimensions were found to have an ICC agreement ranging from moderate to substantial (0.5-0.7), demonstrating that the instrument has an acceptable level of stability. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence that the Vietnamese translation of the COACH tool is generally perceived to be clear and easy to understand and has acceptable stability. There is, however, a need to rephrase and add generic examples to clarify some items and to further review items with low ICC.