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  • 1.
    Abdollahian Barough, Somaje
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Event conceptualisation and aspect in L2 English and Persian: An application of the Heidelberg–Paris model2019Doctoral thesis, monograph (Other academic)
    Abstract [en]

    The present project investigates the impact of the grammaticalised progressive on event conceptualisation in English and Persian. It applies the Heidelberg–Paris framework using single event descriptions for analysis at the sentence level and story re-narrations at the discourse level. The empirical data test the hypothesis that the progressive has an impact on information selection and discourse structuring in event conceptualisation in terms of infrequent endpoint encodings and language-specific patterns of perspective-taking in structuring discourse. Languages lacking the grammaticalised progressive clearly show different effects.

    There are system-based similarities/differences in aspect between English and Persian. They have the progressive in common but differ with respect to the imperfective–perfective distinction. This difference is manifested as an increase in the use of the progressive in English. In contrast, the Persian system with two aspectual non-past forms which are possible for expressions of ongoingness leads to decreased use of the particular dāštan-progressive.

    The key finding for the single, motion event descriptions is that the dāštan-progressive in Persian shows less frequent endpoint encodings, like in English, as compared to languages lacking the progressive. However, the imperfective bare mi-form is associated with frequent endpoints while English shows no such association because the progressive must always be used.

    In narratives, differences emerge again due to the different typology. When the uses of the progressives in re-narrations are differentiated for clause type, the progressive in English is used equally in main and sub-clauses, though more dominantly in sub-clauses in Persian. These sub-results speak about differences in perspective-taking between these L1s.

    The analysis of the complexities involved in aspect establishes that the bare mi-form in Persian can denote ongoingness in cases where the progressive is obligatory in English as it has no optional verb form. Consequently, the typological difference of the absence/presence of the imperfective–perfective categories leads to a significant increase in the use of the progressive in English, which results in a cross-linguistically different, and L1-specific, patterns of perspective-taking in the narrative discourse in English and Persian. Thus, despite the fact that the L1s have the progressive aspect, their principles of use differ as they are dependent on the relevant aspectual system.

    Relating the results to linguistic relativity and cross-linguistic influence, the study shows that owing to the grammatical category of the progressive in common, event conceptualisation is similar in English and Persian in terms of infrequent endpoint encodings in single motion event descriptions, despite the overall typological difference. However, L1-related influence on the principles of use of the progressive in L2 English is considerable in the narrative discourse of the advanced L2 users of English as they seemingly proceed from the principles of use in L1 Persian towards those in L1 English.

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    Event conceptualisation and aspect in L2 English and Persian
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  • 2.
    Abdollahian Barough, Somaje
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Perspectivation in narratives in Persian L2 English2011In: EUROSLA 21, 21st Annual Conference of the European Second Language Association, Stockholm University, 8-10 September 2011: Book of Abstracts, 2011, p. 216-216Conference paper (Refereed)
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  • 3.
    Abdollahian Barough, Somaje
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Reflections on Persian Grammar Developments in Persian Linguistic Scholarship I2017Other (Other academic)
  • 4.
    Abdollahian Barough, Somaje
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Temporal frames of reference in Persian L2 English narrations: A reflection of perspectivation in the L1 or the L2?2013In: EuroSLA 23, 23st Annual Conference of the European Second Language Association, Amsterdam University, 28-31 August 2013: Book of Abstracts, 2013, p. 24-24Conference paper (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    The present study investigates L1 influence on the structuring of events in adult second language acquisition, focusing on temporal perspectivation in film re-tellings by very advanced L2 speakers of English with L1 Persian. The analysis focuses on contrasts in perspectivation with regard to the role of grammaticalised temporal structures of the speaker’s L1, which provides specific means of temporal perspectivation in event representations that differ from English. When organising information for expression in a story-telling task in the L2, grammaticalised L1 features can result in L1-influenced, temporal relations between events that advance the story line, showing transfer as well as possible L2-specific patterns (Carroll, von Stutterheim and Nüse, 2004). Such L1 influence has been established in cross-linguistic analyses of the verbalisation of perceptual input in Germanic, Romance, Semitic, and Slavic languages by the Heidelberg group. The current investigation replicates an analysis of retellings of a film clip by von Stutterheim and Lambert (2005) and Carroll and Lambert (2006), involving an Iranian language, Persian, as L1.

    While progressivity is a prominent feature of the temporal frame in film retellings in English, language change in Persian has led to the following changes for this grammatical category: the conventional mi-prefixed imperfective retains progressivity, while a new periphrastic progressive presents an alternative to this form, along with progressive constructions with verbal nouns.

    The critical results will be retrieved from a quantitative analysis of the L1 Persian data indicating how much the periphrastic progressive is grammaticalised in contrast to the conventional imperfective. Also, a qualitative analysis of the Persian L2 English data identifies the temporal frame used in sequencing events, and compares this with L1 speakers of Persian and English. All three groups of speakers (N=30, in each) were asked to carry out the same task, i.e. retelling of a silent film lasting approximately ten minutes. Finally, the relative distances between the frames of temporal representation in the retellings of Persian advanced learners of L2 English and the two groups of L1 speakers shed light on the way the learners deal with aspectual distinctions in systems that differ typologically and the complexity for the learner. The study thus identifies the role of L1-influenced preferences in the expression of temporal relations in this advanced L2 English learner language with its implications for second language acquisition.

  • 5.
    Abdulahad, Leila
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Gender representation in Swedish upper secondary ESL: a study on the representation of binary and non-binary genders and LGBTQIA in textbooks2022Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    Gender representation is a core part of a democratic society. Gender has evolved past the heteronormative construction and is more of a continuum (Fausto-Sterling, 2000 in Motschenbacher, 2011). Educational materials are therefore an important tool where the school system can ensure inclusivity of the non-binary and LGBTQIA+ community. Previous research on English as a second language (ESL) textbooks used in secondary and upper secondary schools around the world have shown a gender imbalance with the male gender being dominant (Bahman and Rahimi, 2010; Barton and Sakwa, 2012: Brusokaitė and Verikaite-Gaigalienė, 2015). The present study is investigating the coverage of binary, non-binary and LGBTQIA+ characters in digital textbooks in upper secondary Swedish schools (English, 5, 6, 7) by employing a content analysis. The content analysis was initiated by first considering female, male, non-binary and LGBTQIA+ characters. The pronouns and names were supported by extending the analyses to adjectives and adverbs of manner used to describe the binary and non-binary genders and the activities performed by them. Data of adjectives and adverbs of manner connected to the binary, non-binary and LGBTQIA+ identities were also collected from the three selected textbooks. The findings reveal that there is a gender imbalance regarding the visibility of the female gender. In two out of the three textbooks male dominance is prevalent with approximately 30 % more male visibility. Non-binary and LGBTQIA+ characters are almost non-existent in the three selected textbooks, with a very limited number of characters included. The analysis also showed that there are multiple occurrences of gender-marked (Stanley, 1977) adjectives. However, the conclusion of the analysis of the adjective is that there is no gender bias because of the variation of the adjectives. 

  • 6.
    Abed, Sarah
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Teachers’ perceptions of peer review on written assignment in English: A qualitative study of six teachers at two junior high schools in Stockholm2018Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    Peer review is aan interestingwell-researched  topic, with much research focusing on the students’' own perceptions of peer review/assessment as well as benefits and challenges with the method. However, little research has been conducted on teachers’ perceptions of students’ peer review of written assignments in English, with a general focus on junior high school level in a Swedish school. Thus, this study was aimed at examining six English teachers’´ perceptions and their usage of peer review of written assignments in English at two junior high schools in Stockholm. A qualitative method was applied, with semi-structured interviews which were analysed using content analysis. The findings revealed that the teachers used different strategies during peer review depending on students’ knowledge level, social competence and the challenges and opportunities that the method offered. Despite a lack of knowledge about the English language and other variables such as different personalities and lack of self-confidence causing difficulties for students to implement peer review as intended, teachers still had positive attitudes towards peer review on written assignments in English. In order to enhance the implementation of peer review, both teachers and students need to become familiar with the practical implementation of the method. Future classroom research within the Swedish education system will help engender favourable conditions that move learning forward.

  • 7.
    Abou-Gabal, Rukaia
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Using the Harry Potter Series in the Multicultural English Classroom as a Tool to Bring Awareness to Unconscious Biases2020Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    The Harry Potter series, although primarily written for young adults has managed to be widely popular amongst readers of different ages. The series has been able to entice both young and adult readers all over the world as it provides readers with ample opportunities for self-recognition and thus even self-reflection. Other than providing readers with opportunities for self-recognition the series also provides multiple examples of different important real-world issues such as mental health, othering, discrimination, and the stereotype threat.

              In the Harry Potter series, readers are introduced to a whole new world filled with magic, witches, wizards, and other magical beings. The magical world is, however, still very similar to our world; it follows the same timeline as the real world, showcases different teenage problems as well as similar social structures and issues. 

             In today’s society immigrants and students from different nationalities, cultures and backgrounds are very common, leading to othering, stereotyping and prejudices being real issues that need to be addressed in today’s multicultural classes. Students are in need of support and encouragement to better understand and handle these issues in their everyday life.

              Drawing on these ideas this essay will, by using a thematic analysis of the Harry Potter series, focus on the depth of the prejudices presented in the series by examining the underlying structural understanding of othering and racialization which readers are not always aware of being prejudiced against and how these prejudices are presented in the series. The aim is to show how the issues of unconscious biases and othering in the Harry Potter series are presented through the themes and characterization and how they can be used in eliciting empathy by alerting students to the fact that othering and discrimination are often based on unconscious biases found within the society.

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    Rukaia Abou-Gabal
  • 8.
    Abrahamsson, Niclas
    et al.
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Swedish Language and Multilingualism, Centre for Research on Bilingualism.
    Bardel, Camilla
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Language Education.
    Bartning, Inge
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Romance Studies and Classics.
    Erman, Britt
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English. English department, Stockholm.
    Fant, Lars
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Romance Studies and Classics.
    Forsberg Lundell, Fanny
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Romance Studies and Classics.
    Föremålet för inlärning [kap. 3]2014In: avancerad andraspråksanvändning: slutrapport från ett forskningsprogram / [ed] Kenneth Hyltenstam, Inge Bartning, Lars Fant, Göteborg: Makadam Förlag , 2014, no 2, p. 20-46, article id M2005-0459Chapter in book (Refereed)
  • 9.
    Adler, Samuel
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Counterfactuality, Determinism and Free Will in Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles, The Mayor of Casterbridge and The Return of the Native.2012Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    This thesis explores the themes of counterfactuality, determinism and free will in Thomas Hardy’s novels Tess of the D’Urbervilles, The Return of the Native and The Mayor of Casterbridge. The aim is to show how some literary strategies create a sensation that the characters are trying to diverge from an anticipated destiny, and how these measures contribute to the impression that the characters possess free will. In other words, Hardy’s literary devices create the notion that the characters are confined but paradoxically they appear independent. The tragic fate and the tragic past of the characters are the two main literary strategies which are investigated in order to show how the characters are confined by the plot, which influences the reader’s perception of the characters. The tragic fate of the character is expressed through the numerous coincidences, the characters’ choices and actions as well as the way the order of events is presented in the narrative. The tragic past is expressed through a history that is assigned to the character or by the events that the character experiences as part of the narrative. Highlighting these literary devices allows for a reading where many of these events have the ability to spark a counterfactual thought in the reader’s mind, an imagined possibility of how a causal chain could have developed differently. I claim that the moment the reader begins to construct a different possible outcome of the plot the feeling that the character has free will is strengthened. This is due to two separate, but related reasons. Firstly, a variety of possible plotlines, caused by counterfactual thinking, strengthens the image of a character with the choice to follow another causal line of events. Secondly. by claiming that the characters take part in creating their fate we are in a way making them responsible for their actions. 

  • 10.
    Aenny, Assmar
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Good Haiku Do Not Give up All Their Secrets At Once2019Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    his essay will examine the different approaches by Ezra pound to compose haiku. Including collected information enforced by the required features of haiku to decide whether Ezra Pound managed to compose a haiku correctly or not. My opinions will be based on a analyse and a comparison between Ezra Pound’s Poem “In a Station of a Metro and Matsuo Basho’s haiku “An Old Pond”.  

    In just a few lines a haiku author should be able to address questions about life and nature in relation to the author with symbols and philosophy. This essay is a reading of many authors understanding about how haiku should be composed. With those aspects it is feasible to both understand and decide if the features of haiku are fulfilled or not. The interpretation of Ezra Pound’s poem gives the impression and a reminder of haiku, yet it lacks in, what is known as the haiku attitude, that is, a special way of observing nature without manipulating it with own imagination and personal opinions. In contrast to Matsuo Basho’s haiku who implicates the true message and portrays natures natural behavior and relates that to human expression. 

    The resultant understanding about how the required features of haiku should be treated leads to that Ezra Pound’s poem is made by an imagist and cannot be categorized as haiku. The haiku author is an observer who sees the view through its own perspective and relate that experience to feelings and thoughts: therefore, nature is a priority and intended in each meaning of the haiku. Ezra Pound in contrast, is not preoccupied with nature and only mentioned a petal on a wet, black bough. 

        

     

    Keywords: Ezra Pound, Matsuo Basho, Ueda, Lorraine Ellis Harr, haiku attitude, haiku picture. 

  • 11.
    Ahlberg, Martin
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    On the Quest for Alternative Ways of Becoming: Multifaceted Means of Maturation in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight2023Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    Living in an era where success is embraced as a life style, raises concerns that the alternatives to become, to grow and mature have been limited to a single variety – one where only triumph matters. This is a view that is spread through contemporary popular culture, whether it be in social media, video games, tv-series, films or books. One of its origins can be found in Christopher Vogler’s dramaturgical template The Hero’s Journey. A common motif used in The Hero’s Journey is the Quest-motif; a knight on an adventure seeking the holy Grail; or Indiana Jones on search for the Arch. One of the foremost examples of the Quest-motif in English literature is the medieval poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, but the hero in this tale does not come of age through success, but rather through shame and failure.

    By comparing the original 1400-century alliterative poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, with the 2021 film adaption The Green Knight, and relating them to the Hero’s Journey, the aim of this essay is to show that the ways to become are altered in the adaptation and to argue that the film is moulded to fit with the Hero’s Journey. This essay proposes that contemporary story telling lacks alternative ways to become, since modern narrative structures are focused on Coming of Age through success in accordance with the Hero’s Journey. If storytellers can create a greater awareness of the discourse of success and how they themselves are subjects of malleability of this discourse, maybe the contemporary audiences will experience narratives that provide a variety of ways to become, creating a world shaped by diversity and inclusion.

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  • 12.
    Ahlström, Elin
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    How do influencers portray companies on Instagram?: A multimodal discourse analysis on sponsored updates on the social media network Instagram2017Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    The present thesis approaches the newly developed phenomenon of Influencer Marketing, with the aim to investigate the structure of influencer’s sponsored posts on the social media network Instagram. As people continuously express their opinions and feelings on social networking sites, this thesis analyses the textual and multimodal aspects of 18 posts from six influencers of two companies, namely Daniel Wellington and Na-kd, from the perspective of stance to distinguish similarities, differences and patterns concerning the structure of the posts and what these might imply regarding how a sponsored update marketing a product is structured. The results indicate that a common structure of how sponsored updates are generally constructed exists, but that the way they structure their posts does not depend on which company they are presenting, but rather how influencers structure their posts in general. Hence, there are similarities that conform to the influencers marketing both companies, for instance that the texts have roughly the same length and similar composition- both regarding the textual and the multimodal aspects. In addition, one important finding was the need of pragmatic competence to fully interpret how the influencer expresses stance, evaluation and positioning in the sponsored updates. To conclude, as Influencer Marketing provide a new way of communicating, I hope that other researchers continue to investigate Influencer Marketing on social media to contribute to the field of linguistics further. 

  • 13.
    Ahmed, Kamal
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    In Pursuit of the Hero: Mythological Heroic Structures in J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter Series2013Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    Criticism of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series has maintained that its popularity stems from a well-marketed, repetitive and simple structure. However, this essay considers that this success derives from recognizable mythological heroic structures. The essay traces the protagonist’s development from the perspective of two different theories that contrast and complement each other in various ways, Otto Rank’s theory of the myth of the birth of the hero and Joseph Campbell’s theory of the monomyth. Campbell and Rank both hypothesize that hero myths are repetitive because they emerge from the subconscious of human kind. It can be seen in the tracing of the heroic development in Harry Potter that— although various aspects and features in the hero’s journey are followed in the narrative — the series does not strictly fit these theories. The result is a combination of different features from both theories, which modernizes the heroic myth that has pervaded human culture and history since time immemorial.

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  • 14.
    Aho, Emma
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Teaching the Swedish Common Principles as Virtue Ethics: The Unjust Narrator, Gender Inequality and the Arena of Societal Transformation in Welcome to Our Hillbrow2021Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    According to Skolverket, the Swedish school has two missions: conveying knowledge and teaching values. These values are taught through the common principles (värdegrund) and instruct students about democratic values and human rights. However, Skolverket also reports that students lack such knowledge. Therefore, this essay aims to create a module with the main purpose of formulating and teaching the common principles, by using Phaswane Mpe's Welcome to Our Hillbrow, a text with the ability of presenting ethical issues whilst also making the reader respond to them. To achieve this, the values of the common principles will be extracted with the help of virtue ethics, which creates a conjunction with the book, where three topics are selected: sexism, gender identity and societal transformation. Virtue ethics, representing the common principles, together with Adichie’s definition of African feminism inform the analysis of sexism and gender inequality in the book and show how they are prevalent and extensive. Societal transformation is conceptualised and investigated through the use of narratology. Sexism and gender inequality are located in the horizontal plane of an arena, where the vertical expansion of narrative levels creates the urge for societal transformation. Such an expansion is made possible by an implied author, which provides the effect needed for reader inclusion. As such, Welcome to Our Hillbrow is described to entail an ethical challenge, that forces a responsible reader to emerge. Issues of sexism and gender inequality are then used together with the arena of societal transformation to construct a module in English 7, where students may themselves become reasonable readers through a process of critical self-reflection, a vital part of virtue ethics. This is done by employing Socratic and deliberative dialogue and an affective-humanistic approach, which together promote democratic values and human rights.

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    Teaching the Swedish Common Principles_Emma Aho_MAG
  • 15.
    Ahokas, Oona
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    He or She or They: Generic pronoun use among Finnish and Swedish L2 speakers of English2020Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    The use of pronouns by native Finnish and Swedish L2 speakers of English was tested in order to discover a possible cross-linguistic transfer. The participants were tasked to refer to gender-ambiguous antecedents in both oral and written form as well as report their attitudes towards issues regarding gendered language and gender in society. The hypotheses were that either the gender-neutrality of Finnish would cause the Finnish participants to use more neutral pronouns or that the Swedish speakers would be more neutral because they are more familiar with the issue of gendered pronouns than the Finns. No statistically significant difference was found between the groups regarding the neutrality of pronouns, but there were some statistically significant differences between the occurrences of gender neutral pronouns (p=.0001). There was also a statistically significant difference in the attitudes (p=.0016); the Swedes were more in favor of gender-inclusive language and aware of gender discrimination in society. The results of the study bear implications to the importance of early gender inclusive language education.

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  • 16.
    Ahola, Ulrika
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Thackeray's Vanity Fair and Commodities in Circulation2011Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    While William Thackeray’s Vanity Fair is a satire, a humoristic account of the vanities of the different characters in the fictitious society of Vanity Fair, it is also a social criticism of early nineteenth century British society. The essay examines Thackeray’s social critique, which is sometimes explicitly expressed and sometimes more implicit. His criticism is aimed both at the new commodity culture where everything is reducible to money—even people and human relations—and at the class system of the up-and-coming middle classes and the established gentry and aristocracy. When Thackeray sends Becky Sharpe off in a vain pursuit of wealth and social status, he also uses her to expose the vanities of the other characters in Vanity Fair. Their vanities derive from the prevailing commodity culture and are mainly connected to wealth and social status. The essay discusses Becky’s progress from a sociological perspective through the theories of Pierre Bourdieu. His concepts of field, habitus, capital and distinction deal with the power structure in society and what distinguishes different social classes.  Here his theories are used to demonstrate how the different characters in Vanity Fair engage in competition for social status, by using their different forms of capital, and the essay emphasizes the convertibility of these kinds of capital. Bourdieu’s theories contribute to the understanding of how Becky who comes from nowhere, manages to climb to very top rung of the social ladder, but they also demonstrate that her chameleon-like ability to fit in everywhere is an exception to Bourdieu’s general model. 

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  • 17.
    Ahonen Milkovic, Victor
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    The Purpose of a Hero: Forms of heroes in Joe Abercrombie’s 'The Heroes'2021Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
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    fulltext
  • 18.
    Ahrfeldt, Cecilia
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Space and Infelicitous Place in the Poetry of Sylvia Plath2011Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    Sylvia Plath’s poetry has received considerable critical attention with respect to a wide range of themes and critical approaches. Variously labeled feminist, political, mythical and suicidal, Plath has been subject to enormous biographical scrutiny but the critical responses available today offer increasingly nuanced understandings of Plath’s work.  However, sufficient attention has not been given to the significant prevalence of images of places and spaces in Plath’s poetry. With particular focus on a selection of poems from The Collected Poems, this thesis argues that the personae in the poems confront “infelicitous places” and that the poems resonate with a tension between place (here referring to a space that is delimited by certain values) and space (in the sense of an expansion without the restrictions of place). What I here refer to as infelicitous place can be understood as an inversion of Gaston Bachelard’s conception of “felicitous space” and accounts for the way in which places in Plath’s poetry are marred with anxiety and ambivalence as opposed to Bachelard’s benevolent, protective spaces. The places and spaces in the poems are dealt with in relation to the notion of infelicitous place, as well as the significance of walls and the affinity between place and poetics.

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  • 19.
    Akdag, Gonca
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    The role of music in the English language classroom: A qualitative study of teachers' beliefs and practices in Swedish schools2021Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    Music has been used as a teaching approach in ELT for a long time and the rapid accessibility to music has enabled both teachers and students to use it more. The positive effects of music on language learning are many; however, the use of music in the English language classroom is still debated. Although there are many previous studies about the use of music for language learning, to improve vocabulary for example, there are few studies regarding teachers’ beliefs and practices in relation to the use of music in the English classroom. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate the role music has in the English language classroom and this will be done by examining teachers’ beliefs and practices of using music to improve English vocabulary learning. The research questions for the present study are as follows: 1. What are the differences between upper secondary and lower secondary school teachers in regards to their beliefs and practices of using music in the EFL classroom? 2. How do teachers incorporate music as a teaching unit in the EFL classroom? 3. What are the beliefs of teachers regarding the effects of music on English vocabulary learning? The study was carried out through semi-structured interviews with four teachers: two upper secondary and two lower secondary school teachers. The chosen analysis for the study was thematic analysis as it is best suited for transcriptions. The results of the study showed that there are no big differences in teachers’ beliefs and practices. They all believe that music has positive effects on students’ vocabulary learning. The upper secondary school teachers believe that there are many materials of music whereas the lower secondary school teachers believe that music presents new things such as new words for example. Moreover, most of the teachers believe that music increases motivation, interest, and attention. In addition, although the teachers believe that music can be used for all skills, they mainly use it for listening and writing exercises. However, the upper secondary school teachers focus more on the writing skill while the lower secondary school teachers focus more on the listening skill. The teachers use music in many ways such as word gap exercises, interpreting/writing lyrics, guessing lyrics, and as aids in discussions about history. In general, the teachers believe that music has positive effects on vocabulary learning as it engages the students in repetition of words, and enables them to analyse and translate lyrics, to encounter new words and to explain them.

     

    Keywords:

    Music, teachers’ beliefs, teachers’ practices, EFL, vocabulary learning.

     

  • 20.
    Al Ansari-Imad, Ali
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    A quantitative study on the application and comprehension of English connectors by Swedish L2 learners of English in upper secondary schools2017Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    This study focuses on L2 learners of English in Swedish upper secondary schools and their ability to comprehend and use connectors in a multiple-choice cloze procedure. Connectors are used in text to signal the text structure and make explicit the relation between text segments. A study by Geva (1992) suggests that with an increased proficiency, learners also improve their ability to comprehend text relations and the use of connectors. The present study applies the suggestions of Geva’s results in a Swedish context. English in Swedish upper secondary schools, is taught at three levels (designated English 5, 6, 7) with increasing difficulty and proficiency level requirements. This study tests the ability to comprehend the context and use the correct connector on pupils in the two mandatory courses (English 5 & 6). Similar to previous studies, the aim is to investigate the relationship between levels of English and the ability to use connectors. This empirical survey investigates the English 5 & 6 pupils’ success in applying the appropriate connector in relation to the level of English they are placed in, in order to analyze whether there is any perceived development, as is presupposed by the English curriculum. Furthermore, the study also aims to analyze what type of connectors the pupils excel at or struggle with and any factors that might affect pupils’ performance. The test consisted of three categories: adversative (6 questions), additive (5 questions), and causal connectors (4 questions), a total of 15 questions, with one point being awarded for each correct response. The results of the two groups were similar and a subsequent t-test revealed that there was no statistical significance between the two groups in any of the categories. This suggests that in the sample which was tested there is no proficiency increase in terms of connectors and comprehending inter-/intrasentential relationships. Furthermore, the results indicate that the pupils are more likely to correctly select the appropriate adversative and causal connectors, but struggled in selecting the additive connectors.

    Keywords: connectors, comprehension, intrasentential & intersentential relationships, teaching, coherence, cohesion

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  • 21.
    Alexander, Ezra
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Transmedial Migration: Properties of Fictional Characters Adapted into Actual Behavior2013Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    Research in the field of fictional and possible worlds examines the real and its hypothetical counterparts. The interaction between the actual and the fictional is a cause of debate within this field, and includes questions concerning the ontological status of fictional characters and their relation to reality. The following discussion will engage current positions in this debate. These include questions of reference regarding the correlation between fictional characters and actual personalities. Studying the transmedial migration of character properties from fictional worlds into the actual world engages with the possible as dependent on the actual, as well as the influence fiction can have on reality, by demonstrating how individual characters are perceived as packages of properties, some of which we identify and recognize as adaptable to our own behavior. Transmedial migration requires compatibility between different media. Accordingly, it is explained through the direct correspondence of fictional properties to actual properties, and the indirect correspondence of fictional characters to actual people. I am claiming that an interaction can be observed between different media, such as fictional worlds and the actual world, with particular emphasis on the example of fictional characters and their properties. In order to comprehend this we need a robust framework and the model that I am proposing here comprises the essential elements for such a framework. The transmedial migration of character properties from a textual medium, such as a Sherlock Holmes story, into the physical, social medium of the actual world is the action of adapting a fictional character’s package of properties into an actual person’s behavior. The agency of actual people in adapting fictional character properties to their corporal, social actions is what constitutes transmedial migration. This is a specific example of behavioral learning that recognizes certain behavior by the means of a label or trademark that is acquired from a fictional character. It is conceivable that any number of behavioral attributes, such as attitudes or habits, could be scientifically proven to have transmedially migrated by means of experimentation. Nevertheless, culturally and socially, it is only the definite identification of such character properties that substantiates my argument of transmedial migration through adaptation.

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  • 22.
    Alfranca Ramón, Cristina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    The representation of speech acts in EFL textbooks in Sweden: An investigation of greetings, requests and refusals in input and output and teacher insights2021Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    The teaching of pragmatics is often neglected in foreign language classes despite the wellknown importance of pragmatic competence. No matter how well a learner masters thetarget language, errors of a pragmatic nature may lead to major communicative failure orturbulence. Both studies in language teaching and current language educational laws inSweden (following the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) pointtowards the necessity for the learner to be pragmatically proficient. Following these lines,textbooks are expected to mirror curricula and educational laws. The present study aimsto address this very issue and investigates the pragmatic content of ELT books in Swedenwith a specific focus on lower and upper secondary school (year 6, 9 and last year ofupper secondary school). The study has as its primary data set three ELT books from thesame publisher and extensively used in Swedish schools, namely Good Stuff Gold A,Good Stuff Gold D, and Blueprint C 2.0. The presence of pragmatic content isinvestigated through the method of content analysis of the textbooks focusing on threespeech acts - greetings, requests, and refusals. The first part of the study is complementedby semi-structured interviews complemented with two teachers of English in Sweden.The findings point to considerable differences in the representation of the three speechacts in the books, with regression from lower to higher levels, and the interviews with theteachers reveal that teachers' complementary activities often compensate for the lack ofpragmatic content in the books. The findings from the present study reveal shortcomingsof the selected textbooks omitting important information, something that might hinderstudents from developing communicative competence. The findings of the present studyhave the potential to inform the practices of teaching professionals in their efforts to teachpragmatic competence.

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  • 23.
    ALGAN, SIBEL
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    CHANGES IN MEANING IN SPEECH ERRORS: AN ANALYSIS OF LEXICAL SPEECH ERRORS IN NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES2017Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    Speech Errors are the most widely recognized and discussed type of Language

    Processing Errors. They have been included as a research topic in many fields of study,

    e.g. cognitive linguistics, psychology and medicine. These studies have shown that

    speech errors are inevitable and very common: they can be observed in every kind of

    utterance, regardless of its formality or speakers’ age, socioeconomic background or

    environmental surroundings. Even though they are so ubiquitous, they are usually not

    paid attention to. Nevertheless, they might be representing a way of understanding how

    the human brain functions and why we dysfunction at times.

    In this paper, selected speech error examples from Fromkin’s Speech Error

    Database were analyzed in terms of the changes in meanings from target utterances into

    error utterances and the probable causes of the errors with the aim to discover any

    patterns of occurrence among erroneous speech. The focus of the examples has been

    lexical errors in nouns and adjectives.

    According to results of the analysis, contextual and environmental factors appear to

    contribute to the making of the errors in many different ways, along with the speakers’

    internal thoughts and representations of phenomena related to the utterances. These

    contributions could be accounted for various reasons. Along the keywords included in

    the search for patterns, distinctive features may only be observed in examples of

    opposite meaning. Thus, speech errors seem to have no typical ways of occurrence; still,

    some observable similarities among examples may be useful in further studies.

  • 24.
    Alm-Arvius, Christina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Aspects of the passive and semantic roles2007In: Parasession on Passive, Reflexive, Impersonal and Related Constructions (parasession to ICLC 10), Sopot, Poland, July 12–13, 2007., 2007Conference paper (Refereed)
  • 25.
    Alm-Arvius, Christina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Figures of Speech2003Book (Other academic)
  • 26.
    Alm-Arvius, Christina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Fixed, flexible, or fragmentary?: Types of idiom variation2007In: Collocations and Idioms 1: Papers from the First Nordic Conference on Syntactic Freezes, Joensuu, May 19–20, 2006, Joensuu, Faculty of Humanities, University of Joensuu , 2007, p. 14–26-Chapter in book (Other academic)
  • 27.
    Alm-Arvius, Christina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Heading for witty poeticity: wordplay in headlines in The Times Literary Supplement2010In: Humour in language: textual and linguistic aspects / [ed] Anders Bengtsson & Victorine Hancock, Stockholm: Acta Universitatis Stockholmiensis, 2010, p. 15-29Chapter in book (Other academic)
  • 28.
    Alm-Arvius, Christina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Iconicity and poeticity in the discourse functions of figures of speech2011In: Selected papers from the 2008 Stockholm Metaphor Festival / [ed] Christina Alm-Arvius, Nils-Lennart Johannesson & David Minugh, Stockholm: Department of English, 2011, p. 95-137Chapter in book (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    This qualitative study deals with the nature of poeticity and iconicity and their role in the discourse functions of figures of speech: schemes and tropes. The concept of poeticity is that of Roman Jakobson. The poetic function is a particular kind of meaning which is created from language-internal material. It is found in rhythmic schematic repetition and more deliberate tropes whose poetic qualities seem foregrounded and aesthetically designed. Accordingly, they will have rhetorical and mnemonic potential. Moreover, poetic uses will have a monistic character, as their form and meaning will fuse, and this may make it difficult to translate and paraphrase them. Metonymic instantiations and conventional, entrenched metaphors will not be noticeably poetic, but the semantic status of a given use will be a result of more specific discourse factors. The poetic function can interact with factually descriptive, affective, and interpersonal meanings, which are extra-linguistically oriented, as well as with meaningful textual structuring. Poeticity is found in many different text types. It will be a global organisational feature in poetry, but tends only to occur locally in prose. In addition, prototypical iconicity concerns motivated similarity between a linguistic form and the kind of phenomenon out in the world that it represents. However, iconicity has also been used about the similarity relation between e.g. a metaphorical meaning and its source. Iconicity and poeticity often occur together, and they will strengthen and help to foreground each other’s characters.

  • 29.
    Alm-Arvius, Christina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English. Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Incidental nominal compounds in the Skellefte dialect: An example of the interface between word formation and syntax2000In: Language structure and variation, Almqvist & Wiksell International , 2000Chapter in book (Refereed)
  • 30.
    Alm-Arvius, Christina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English. Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Introduction to Semantics1998Book (Other (popular science, discussion, etc.))
  • 31.
    Alm-Arvius, Christina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Lexical polysemy2007In: Further Insights into Semantics and Lexicography, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej, Lublin , 2007, p. 43–55-Chapter in book (Other academic)
  • 32.
    Alm-Arvius, Christina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Lexical polysemy2006In: Proceedings of the conference New Insights into Semantics and Lexicography, 2006Conference paper (Other academic)
  • 33.
    Alm-Arvius, Christina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Live, moribund and dead metaphors2006In: Nordic Journal of English Studies: Special issue on metaphors, Vol. 5, no 1, p. 7-14Article in journal (Refereed)
  • 34.
    Alm-Arvius, Christina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English. Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Metaphor and Metonymy2006Conference paper (Refereed)
  • 35.
    Alm-Arvius, Christina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Metaphor and Metonymy2008In: Selected Papers from the 2006 and 2007 Stockholm Metaphor Festivals / [ed] N.-L. Johannesson & D. Minugh, Stockholm: Acta Universitatis Stockholmiensis , 2008, 2, p. 3-24Chapter in book (Other (popular science, discussion, etc.))
    Abstract [en]

    In this article metonymy and metaphor are described in relation to the notion of poetic meaning, the definitional feature shared by all types of figurative uses. Even if both these types of tropes will draw on encyclopaedic experiences, or pre- or extra-linguistic cognitive complexes, they are also formed in relation to established structures in a language system. In other words, their occurrence shows how intertwined linguistic knowledge and experientially based cognition will be. Moreover, it is arguable that at least “fully alive” metaphors will have a more noticeable poetic and figurative character than metonymic uses. The reason for this is that a metaphor brings together domains that are felt to be similar in some respect, although they are also clearly different. In this imaginative coalescence many features in the source are suppressed, and a kind of “fake” superordinate category is created: the generalised target meaning. It spans both the ordinarily concrete source and some other phenomenon, often something more abstract. The poetic or figurative character of metonymies is by comparison more inconspicuous, presumably because they constitute descriptive or referential shortcuts in relation to just one meronymically structured domain or chain of contiguous domains.

  • 36.
    Alm-Arvius, Christina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Metaphors, cognition, language constructions and contexts: Seminar presentation2012Other (Other academic)
    Abstract [en]

    This presentation will start with an overview of theories about the character and function of metaphor, and then proceed to an examination of central dimensions in metaphor analyses, describing and discussing the status or function of aesthetics, rhetoric, categorisation, (embodied) conceptualisation, and text building in metaphor formation and use. It will conclude with an outline of the perceived weight and value of various attempts at explaining the nature of metaphor in human conception and communication.

  • 37.
    Alm-Arvius, Christina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English. Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Metonymy2006Conference paper (Refereed)
  • 38.
    Alm-Arvius, Christina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Poetic figurative-literal meaning reversals in puns2007In: The Stockholm 2007 Metaphor Festival, Sept. 20–21, 2007, 2007Conference paper (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    In this paper metonymy and metaphor are described in relation to the notion of poetic meaning, the definitional feature shared by all types of figurative uses. Even if both these types of tropes will draw on encyclopaedic experiences, or pre- or extra-linguistic cognitive complexes, they are also formed in relation to established structures in a language system. In other words, their occurrence shows how intertwined linguistic knowledge and experientially based cognition will be. Moreover, it is arguable that at least “fully alive” metaphors will have a more noticeable poetic and figurative character than metonymic uses. The reason for this is that a metaphor brings together domains that are felt to be similar in some respect, although they are also clearly different. In this imaginative coalescence many features in the source are suppressed, and a kind of ‘fake’ superordinate category is created: the generalised target meaning. It spans both the ordinarily concrete source and some other phenomenon, often something more abstract. The poetic or figurative character of metonymies is by comparison more inconspicuous, presumably because they constitute descriptive or referential shortcuts in relation to just one meronymically structured domain or chain of contiguous domains.

  • 39.
    Alm-Arvius, Christina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Polysemy: conventional and incidental cases2011In: Linguistics Applied, ISSN 1689-7765, Vol. 4, p. 11-36Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Polysemy is a key question in the field of semantics. Empirical observations, analysis and description of polysemy are important for theoretical considerations and development as well as for applied linguistics, e.g. lexicography.

    Polysemy occurs when a lexical unit or a construction is used to represent different but also related meanings. Polysemous variation is either conventional and systematic or the result of merely incidental, contextually induced meaning shifts. A polyseme has one or more distinct and entrenched sense potentials, but they sometimes combine or fuse in actual language use. In addition, there are more general types of regular polysemy that are only pragmatically instantiated, as well as idiosyncratic and unpredictable meaning changes. By comparison, a monosemic element has only one conventional sense, while homonyms just happen to be formally identical although their meanings are not related.

    Important factors in polysemous variation are (i) the occurrence of different types of meaning, or language functions, (ii) differences in experiential domain connections, and (iii) differences in sense relations. The following types of polysemous variation have been recognised: collocational tailoring, domain shift, metaphor, metonymy, perspective shift, value reversal, irony, emotive colouring, interpersonal signal, and idiom breaking.  

  • 40.
    Alm-Arvius, Christina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Semantics and pragmatics2008In: Linguistics Applied, ISSN 1689-7765, Vol. 1, no 1, p. 29-36Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Christina Alm-Arvius

    English Department,

    Stockholm University

    SE106 91 Stockholm

    Sweden

    Christina.Alm-Arvius@English.su.se

    http://www.english.su.se/

     

     

    Semantics and Pragmatics

     

    Abstract:

    Meanings in natural language use can be either systematic or incidental, but all the same it does not appear possible to identify a set of consistent and non-contradictory criteria for distinguishing two general contrasting meaning categories termed semantics and pragmatics respectively. Instead the most valid theoretical description seems to be to include any possible meanings of a language, or its use, in the qualitative notion of semantics, and, in addition, recognise the occurrence of incidental pragmatic meaning variations and additions. In other words, semantics is the wider or superordinate category, encompassing all and any language meanings, while pragmatics is a smaller, subordinate category, including only situationally induced or personally variable meaning aspects.

     

    Key words: deixis, implicatures, pragmatics, presuppositions, reference, semantics, semantics of understanding, speech acts, truth-conditional semantics

  • 41.
    Alm-Arvius, Christina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    The teaching of semantics in the Department of English2007Report (Other academic)
  • 42.
    Alm-Arvius, Christina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    The Word-Class Status of Worth1995In: Studies in Anglistics, Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International , 1995Chapter in book (Refereed)
  • 43.
    Alm-Arvius, Christina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Trolls2012In: Metaphor in Use: Context, culture, and communication / [ed] Fiona MacArthur; José Luis Oncins-Martínez; Manuel Sánchez-García; Ana M. Piquer-Píriz, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2012, p. 309-327Chapter in book (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    The persistent occurrence of the noun troll in Swedish indicates that it is a culturally entrenched notion in Sweden as well as in other Scandinavian countries. The aim of this chapter is to explore the use of troll in modern Swedish and to show how culturally-entrenched concepts, and the attitudes that are associated with them, are integrated in the language of a speech community as part of its heritage. The noun has a complex and variable sense potential, and both literal and metaphorical uses of the noun are attitudinally coloured, although these attitudes may be ambiguous and even contradictory. Using linguistic evidence gathered from dictionaries and Internet sources, this chapter describes and discusses the rich and partly antithetical set of attitudes expressed by the conventional and novel metaphorical expressions that draw on this Scandinavian mythological concept, and briefly compares Swedish uses of troll with those found in English, finding that even though the word is used also in this comparatively closely related language, it is devoid of the rich cultural associations of the donor term.

  • 44.
    Alm-Arvius, Christina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Universal and Language-­‐specific Components of Cultural Metaphors2012In: RaAM 9 Conference: Metaphor in Mind and Society: Book of Abstracts, 2012, p. 43-44Conference paper (Other academic)
    Abstract [en]

    This presentation examines two lexicalised compounds in Swedish with at least basically metaphorical senses connected with the Swedish Social Democratic vision and attempted practical construction of a modern egalitarian welfare state: folkhemmet: ‘’the people’s home’ and klassresa: ‘class journey’.

    We are going to consider the experiential and conceptual grounding of the compounds folkhemmet and klassresa i) within a specific, Swedish cultural and ideological discourse complex as well as in relation to ii) a set of presumably universal meaning dimensions or functions, and iii) some embodied, also presumably universal image schemas.

  • 45.
    Alm-Arvius, Christina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Vad är det för mening med joyceanskan i Finnegan's Wake?2004In: Circularrundbrev, Vol. 1Article in journal (Other academic)
  • 46.
    Alm-Arvius, Christina
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    We shall soon grow to know each other better: Know, a gradable verb2004In: An International Master of Syntax and Semantics: Gothenburg Studies in English 88, Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis, Gothenburg , 2004, p. 21–30-Chapter in book (Other academic)
  • 47.
    Almgren, Anders
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    2008Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    This essay will focus on the actions taken by a translator to rid a children’s book of sexist content. First of all the sexist content in the book is located by studying the criticism (of sexist content) the book in question has received since it was published. By using the translation theory of shifts these actions will be exemplified and further discussed by the use of other translation theories.

    With the translator’s actions in focus certain translation strategies will be compared to the ones taken by the translator of the book. The shifts made in the translation will be located, presented and explained. Finally a discussion, of the problems occurring when editing a translation in order to change the effect on the reader and about the responsibilities of translators, will follow.

  • 48.
    Almroth, Amanda
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Shirley Jackson's Scapegoats: The Scapegoat Mechanism in We Have Always Lived in the Castle and "The Lottery"2013Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    Shirley Jackson’s writing often deals with the subject of marginalized characters and the theme of the scapegoat. René Girard argued that societies need the scapegoat in order to control violence and form a unity. This essay discusses the scapegoat mechanism in two of Jackson’s most famous works, “The Lottery” and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, and shows how the figure of the scapegoat functions differently in the two narratives. In “The Lottery” the process is laid bare by an omniscient narrator while in We Have Always Lived in the Castle, the narrator is a scapegoat as well as a creator of scapegoats. The essay also examines how the scapegoat mechanism turns the characters into either passive objects or active subjects.

  • 49.
    Alp, Efrim Daniel
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    Swedish Upper-secondary school students’ exposure to and acquisition of the English language2017Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    The aim of this sociolinguistic essay was to investigate differences and similarities between how the English language is encountered and used in a suburban school compared to an inner-city school. Moreover, the primary material was collected with the use of a questionnaire, answered by 22 and 26 students between the ages of 16-19 years old from two upper-secondary schools. The results obtained from this study highlight that the students irrespective of their social backgrounds encountered and used the English language in similar ways. However, in relation to the acquisition of the language, the results highlighted that the students who came from a high socio-economic background had an advantage compared to their peers who shared an immigrant or migrant background in the sense that they to a higher extent came from an academic household which can be beneficial regarding language exposure and acquisition. Nevertheless, the differentiating factors behind that advantage were reduced to some extent by the role of social media.

  • 50.
    Alshamani, Afrem
    Stockholm University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of English.
    “I should think what politics he has are just a little bit left of center”:An analysis of James Bond’s personal ideology2020Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
    Abstract [en]

    Ian Fleming’s debut novel Casino Royale (2015) introduces the iconic character James Bond. The savvy British spy who must save the world from Soviet villain is a cultural icon the world over. Yet not much is known of his personal political leanings. Fleming once claimed that James Bond’s politics lies just left of center. In this essay I analyze where James Bond lies on the left-right political scale by using Cichoka & Dhont’s (2018) “Big-five personality model”.Research has been made about the contextual, historical and political settings of the Bond novels such as Jeremy Black’s (2001) “The politics of James Bond: from Fleming's novels to the big screen” which serves as a complement to this research. Black’s (2001)claims suggest that Britain struggled for dominance after The Second World War as they were financially in ruin and although Britain lost some of its colonies, they still had many territories under their control. However, with the rising power of the Soviet Union, the nationalistic feeling in Britain grew as their reputation as a powerful empire needed to be upheld. Therefore, a need for a strong British symbol grew, which also acted as a reason for why Fleming created James Bond.The essay concludes that James Bond represents a specific part of Great Britain. The analysis has shown James Bond is a product of his time by symbolizing the longing for the return of the great British empire. This is supported by the fact of him scoring low on categories such as Agreeableness and Openness combined with the fact that he harbors anti-Communist beliefs. The analysis show that he acts in a manner that would highlight the colonial days of Britain where their strength had not yet diminished as opposed to the times after the Second World War. As such, the actions of James Bond, together with his explicit views suggest that he lies slightly more towards the right on the political scale and thus, disputesthe claim of Ian Fleming. 

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