Humor in Pride and Prejudice : The Role of Humor in Austen’s Novel of Development

engelska

English product names and descriptions in two Swedish supermarkets : A quantitative and qualitative analysis

This study aimed to investigate what proportion of two household staples, soap and crispbread products, in two Swedish supermarkets had English product names or descriptions, and attempted a qualitative analysis of the English language used. Out of the Swedish brands, 54-62% of the soap products had names and/or product descriptions containing English, compared to 13-15% of the crispbread; these differences were in line with previous research, suggesting English is used more to market certain product groups than other ones. Earlier studies have also proposed that English could be considered an ‘elite’ language in Sweden, and it might thus be more commonly found on more exclusive/expensive products, or in the supermarket primarily aiming at higher-income customers. However, the differences between the two supermarkets, and between the more and less expensive products, were not great enough for any firm conclusions. When products had a mixture of languages on the label, English was most often used for product names or part of names, not so often for product descriptions. Further studies with a larger amount of data would be required for more reliable conclusions, especially for the qualitative analyses. It would also be interesting to investigate customers’ attitudes towards the use of English on product labels.

ACTITUDES HACIA LA VARIEDAD CANARIA : Un estudio sociolingüístico de estudiantes universitarios en Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

En este estudio se analizan las actitudes lingüísticas hacia la variedad canaria en comparación con la variedad español peninsular considerado estándar de veinte estudiantes universitarios en Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. La investigadora utiliza una versión modificada del método matched guise que consiste en una grabación de cuatro versiones de un mismo texto leído por dos hablantes de la variedad canaria y dos hablantes de la variedad español peninsular considerado estándar. Los informantes escuchan el texto grabado y contestan consecutivamente un cuestionario, evaluando las voces de la grabación. Según el resultado obtenido existe una diferencia entre la valoración de la dimensión de estatus y la dimensión de solidaridad. Los informantes valoran más positivamente a la variedad español peninsular estándar al nivel estatus, mostrando actitudes desfavorables hacia la variedad canaria. En la dimensión de solidaridad se manifiestan actitudes contradictorias hacia la variedad canaria, indicando una posible oposición entre una variedad culta y una vulgar.

Mémoire de licence La réception du message donné dans Le Petit Prince : Une étude sur la réception et l’interprétation du message donné dans Le Petit Prince par Antoine de Saint-Exupéry chez l’adulte et l’enfant.

Le présent travail est une étude sur Le Petit Prince, d’Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Le but principal du mémoire est d’analyser la réception du message chez le lecteur adulte et chez le lecteur enfant. Nous avons analysé comment l’enfant et l’adulte interprètent le message donné par l’oeuvre, parsemée d’images et d’allégories, des citations qui son devenues symboliques avec le temps. Ensuite, nous avons analysé les personnages dans le but d’interpréter leur sens symbolique. Pour réaliser cette recherche, nous avons regardé plusieurs interprétations allégoriques. Les résultats de notre étude nous ont permis d’affirmer que la réception du message n’est pas la même chez le lecteur adulte et le lecteur enfant. Les résultats de cette étude montrent enfin qu’il est trop difficile pour le lecteur enfant de comprendre le sens moral d’une image allégorique, tandis que le lecteur adulte est plus apte à interpréter l’image allégorique en s’appuyant sur son expérience de la lecture et de son expérience de la vie quotidienne. L’auteur utilise l’image symbolique dans la littérature pour montrer avec plus de clarté la condition humaine. En conclusion nous apprenons que Le Petit Prince nous fait réfléchir sur la vie de la façon plus profonde et philosophique.

At the Core of the Matter : J.M. Coetzee’s Disgrace from a psychoanalytical perspective

engelska

”Få in världen i klassrummet” : En studie om skönlitteraturens roll i gymnasieskolans SVAundervisning

Uppsatsens övergripande syfte är att åskådliggöra hur några gymnasielärare behöriga i svenska som andraspråk respektive svenska betraktar skönlitteraturens roll i ämnet svenska som andraspråk (SVA) och hur det praktiska klassrumsarbetet med litteraturundervisning ser ut. I uppsatsen diskuteras även lärarnas syn på skönlitteraturen i SVA-ämnet i jämförelse med i svenskämnet i relation ämnes- och kursplanerna i Läroplan, examensmål och gymnasiegemensamma ämnen för gymnasieskola 2011. För att uppnå syftet och besvara frågeställningarna har jag genomfört en kvalitativ studie där fyra lärare intervjuats, samtliga verksamma på nationella program. Av resultaten framkommer att lärarna starkt betonar skönlitteraturens betydelse i SVA-undervisningen. De viktigaste motiven för skönlitteraturen som lyfts fram är språkutveckling, identitetsutveckling, främjande av empatisk och demokratisk förmåga samt som förmedlare av svenska referensramar. Vid valen av litterära texter beaktar lärarna styrdokumentens skrivningar samt språkliga faktorer. Två arbetssätt som framhålls är boksamtal och tematiskt arbete. Det litterära samtalet framhävs som positivt för lärandet liksom läsande i en större kontext inom ett gemensamt tema. Lärarna understryker att skillnaderna i styrdokumenten mellan svenskämnena är alltför stora vad avser skrivningar om skönlitteratur och de anser att SVA borde likna svenskämnet mera vad gäller det litterära ämnesinnehållet.

Students' views on the learning of kanji : A study the views and experiences of students at the Swedish universities concerning the teaching and learning of Chinese characters as used in Japanese

Kanji, the Chinese characters adopted to write the Japanese language, is often mentioned as one of the most difficult aspects of mastering said language. This is especially said about people from outside the Sinosphere i.e. PRC, Taiwan, North and South Korea, Japan and Vietnam. In the following thesis 12 students studying the Japanese language at Swedish universities were interviewed about their experiences when it comes to learning and being taught about kanji. A chapter summarizing some of the research that is relevant to this thesis is also included. Topics touched upon in this and the result chapter include the desire for more structured approach to kanji learning based on breaking down the characters into elemental components, spaced repetition (SRS), mnemonics.

ETUDE COMPARATIVE DE LA TRADUCTION EN SUEDOIS DE LOTTA RIAD, « ATLANTENS MAGE », AVEC LE TEXTE ORIGINAL : « LE VENTRE DE L’ATLANTIQUE » DE FATOU DIOME A LA LUMIÈRE DES PRINCIPES ÉNONCÉS PAR ANTOINE BERMAN

L’objectif de ce mémoire est de faire une étude comparative de la traduction suédoise Le Ventre de l’Atlantique par Lotta Riad avec le texte source à la lumière des douze tendances déformantes d’Antoine Berman. Nous nous efforçons également de présenter « notre traduction » illustrant la méthode bermanienne. Force est de constater, qu’elle n’est pas toujours réalisable, néanmoins, cette démarche permet une réflexion stimulant la clairvoyance.

Elvaåringars skriftbruk till vardags och i skolan

The written word ‘surrounds us round the clock’. Consequently, it is difficult to determine the border between children’s school literacy and their vernacular literacy outside school. The aim of this article is therefore to describe some everyday literacy events and their relation to literacy events in grade 5 in school.  The concept literacy covers broader ways of reading and writing and is understood in the social context in which it is used and acquired. Children use different written modes of communication outside school, for example, Facebook and blogs, but seldom books. In school, on the other hand, they usually write with a pen and read books made of paper. The children’s vernacular literacy practices and school literacy practices meet during school breaks, where students’ texting and typing are visible. The different use of modes, tools and literacy events among students are something that probably should be problematized and discussed within schools with the aim of drawing on everyday practices to enhance educational development.

Språkintroduktion en dörröppnare till gymnasiet? : Andraspråkselevers upplevelse av språkintroduktion

Syftet med studien är att undersöka nyanlända elevers erfarenhet av introduktionsprogrammet samt att belysa deras upplevelser av kunskapsinlärning på ett andra språk. Vidare är syftet att synliggöra huruvida eleverna upplever IM som en väg in i gymnasieskolan och i samhället. Studien bygger på kvalitativa metoder med intervjuer från fem elever som går på språkintroduktionsprogrammet. Intervjuerna har skrivits ner och bearbetats. Resultatet analyserar utifrån andraspråksforskning som presenteras i inledningen. Studien visar liksom andra undersökningar att andraspråkselever behöver få möjlighet att utveckla så väl sitt språk som ämneskunskaper. Språket är viktigt för såväl det egna identitetsskapande som gemenskapen med andra elever på gymnasiet.

"Nasty Nastiness" : The Critical Body in Marlon James’s John Crow’s Devil

engelska

Die Grausamkeit des Märchens -Historische Hintergründe und Entwicklung von Basile, über Perrault bis zu den Gebrüdern Grimmanhand ausgesuchter Märchen

The topic of the following thesis is cruelty in fairy tales. For the work on hand the following fairy tales were used to examine the historical roots of the topic as well as pedagogical background: Red Riding Hood from the Brothers Grimm and Perrault as well as Han-sel and Gretel another tale of the Grimm Collection, the Tom Thumb-Version of Perrault and Ninillo und Nennella from Basile. Af-ter a short introduction to the meaning of fairy tales, the stories are retold and analyzed as well as compared to their most probable historical background and it shows that what seems to be cruel to-day had a very different meaning in the past.

Kultur ist mehr als Currywurst Ältere Literatur im Deutschunterricht : Eine Literaturstudie

With regards to the teaching of German in Sweden this literature study looks into the Swedish curriculum and the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) to compare today’s common interpretation of the goals in language learning to the educational goals in the documents. Critics mean that the CEFR and in extension the curricula in the associated countries focus mainly on measurable practical language skills. This leads to impoverishment of the concept of language learning, which should include broad cultural aspects, encourage the students to develop their personalities and curiosity and foster a livelong desire to study. This work will try to show that blaming the CEFR for the kind of lopsided development towards practical, measurable skills in language teaching does not origin in the document or in the national curriculum. It appears to be the interpretation of the documents that oversees some essential requirements, not only for successful language teaching but also for the use of German as a tool for conversation and understanding. The real understanding of a language is, according to the research referred to in this work, connected to the understanding of culture. This literature study will show that reading older literature in language classes will favour the students´ understanding of culture. Furthermore, this work will try to point out other educational benefits besides the gain of cultural knowledge in working with literature. Students learn to argue and gain understanding of their own world by comparing to the new reality they meet in the literature. In addition, students will, with the help of the text, acquire new vocabulary and get an understanding of the structure of the language. In essence the use of literature in teaching German on one hand meets and fulfils the requirements in the curriculum and on the other hand supports the development of language skills and personals skills.

Popsongs im Deutschunterricht : Wie man schwedische Schüler und Schülerinnen durch deutsche Popsongs für Lyrik interessieren kann

It can be hard to inspire teens for poetry and Lyric. Especially when it is to be performed in a foreign language. I am thinking of myself at that age. German was absolutely not my favorite subject. It was far too theoretic and I often did not get through the grammar. I have often thought about how I would have managed the subject of German, if the lessons had been designed in a different way. At the age of 16, I decided to end my German studies, since they impaired the rest of my grades. What did excite me at the age of 13-18 years? Love was of paramount importance. And what touched the most about Love? For me it was the music, and I think that is the same for many other teenagers. Would it be possible to achieve a different result by the processing of German lyrics in the classroom, than my teacher did? If so, how can we design the teaching, so that it serves its purpose, and follows the curriculum?