Code switching can be defined as the use of more than one language, or ‘code’, by someone engaged in speech or text. It is a practise employed by multilinguals in both oral and written...Show moreCode switching can be defined as the use of more than one language, or ‘code’, by someone engaged in speech or text. It is a practise employed by multilinguals in both oral and written conversations. Different multilinguals will have different switching patterns. These patterns can vary depending on the speaker’s language proficiency, community norms, the typology of their languages, and the cultural or political relations these languages might have with one another, among many other reasons. Code switching between Spanish and English and Spanish and French has been the subject of various studies. Although trilingual research is rare (e.g. Parafita Couto et al., 2023; Valdés Kroff et al., 2023), there has also been some research on the connection between Spanish, French and English, but most of this work is based in the French-speaking provinces of Canada (e.g. COLEM, 2023; Pato, 2019, 2022). This paper aims to study the code-switching patterns among a set of trilingual siblings living in Geneva who have Colombian heritage and attend a British school in the city. The participants recorded themselves for up to 30 minutes having casual conversations following a prompt in three separate occasions. The switches were identified alongside general information about the corpus, such as how many languages were present in each clause, the clauses’ matrix language, the general use of each language in the corpus, among others. This paper focuses on intraclausal switching. We followed Deuchar et al. (2007)’s methodology which categorises each intraclausal switch into insertion, alteration, or congruent lexicalisation according to the code switching pattern it most aligned with following Muysken’s typology of bilingual speech patterns (2000).Because English, Spanish and French are typologically similar, combined with the fact our participants are fluent in all three languages, and due to the culturally open context of Geneva, we expected alternation to be the dominant switch pattern in the recorded conversations. Having said this, since the participants go to a British school where their education is mainly in English, and because the Colombian community in Geneva is not as big as other bilingual communities around the world, a dominant insertional pattern was also a possibility. The corpus was composed of mainly unilingual clauses with 7.8% of the first recording being bilingual clauses, 19.6% of the second recording, and 8.95% of the third. Only three clauses in the entire corpus were trilingual out of 1215. Once we had analysed the entirety of the conversations, the dominant pattern was indeed overwhelmingly insertion with 77.55% of the switches in the corpus presenting this pattern. Congruent lexicalisation was present in 11.56% of the switches and alternation in the other 10.88%. Although these results do not necessarily align with our expectations of codeswitching in Switzerland, we believe our participants’ specific background, namely the fact that language separation is encouraged in the different spheres of their lives, could explain the prevalence of insertion over alternation in our case study. We hope our research will contribute to bigger corpus studies of trilingual codeswitching patterns in different communities.Show less
This study aims to examine the extent and limits of the comparison between Holland and China in French travel Literature of the 19th century. We particularly intend to comprehend the nature of the...Show moreThis study aims to examine the extent and limits of the comparison between Holland and China in French travel Literature of the 19th century. We particularly intend to comprehend the nature of the precise comparison: of which elements it consists, why she is made and in which manner. In order to answer this question, we analyse a corpus of multiple travel journals from different writers. We apply a method of Imagology, together with concepts as Orientalism and exoticism. From the analysis of the corpus results three research tracks: the material aspect of the comparison, the cultural aspect and the limits of Chinese Holland. The comparison between Holland and China has proved to be a complex structure, resulting from a long tradition as well as (erroneous) stereotypes based on different types of images.Show less
This thesis investigates the usage of the well-used but little researched descriptio puellae, a form of describing women that was used in medieval literature around Europe. The form is regularly...Show moreThis thesis investigates the usage of the well-used but little researched descriptio puellae, a form of describing women that was used in medieval literature around Europe. The form is regularly assumed to be written from top to bottom; starting with the woman's hair and ending with her hips, hands, or sometimes, feet. This thesis looks at how accurate this assumption is and also explores derivative forms of the descriptio puellae, such as the description of male characters (descriptio pueri) and the descriptions of feminine "subversive" characters that do not directly satisfy the feminine standards associated with the medieval status quo.Show less
Des châteaux aux tours, des jardins aux forêts ; Marie de France utilise divers espaces civils et naturels qui soutiennent les intrigues dans ses Lais. À ce qu'il paraît, L'objectif de la présente...Show moreDes châteaux aux tours, des jardins aux forêts ; Marie de France utilise divers espaces civils et naturels qui soutiennent les intrigues dans ses Lais. À ce qu'il paraît, L'objectif de la présente étude serait de lier les études médiévales et le concept de l'espace genré à travers les Lais de Marie de France, afin de montrer que la division de l'espace est intrinsiquement genrée et suit les tendances de la société féodale et patriarcale.Show less
Les jeunes utilisent une forme de langage qui leur est propre et en perpétuelle mutation, qualifiée souvent de langage jeune. Ce faisant, ils constituent un facteur important de changement...Show moreLes jeunes utilisent une forme de langage qui leur est propre et en perpétuelle mutation, qualifiée souvent de langage jeune. Ce faisant, ils constituent un facteur important de changement linguistique. Les études existantes démontrent l’existence de ce phénomène en se concentrant sur les jeux sur le lexique comme le verlan, la troncation ou l’emprunt à d’autres langues. Ce mémoire porte sur ce qui semble constituer un jeu morphosyntaxique très présent dans le langage jeune contemporain, celui de la recatégorisation, et plus particulièrement la recatégorisation de l’adjectif en adverbe. On rencontre en effet fréquemment l’emploi de certains adjectifs à la place des adverbes en - ment leur correspondant (j’ai total planté à la place de j’ai totalement planté). J’identifie dans ce travail 15 adjectifs autorisant cet emploi. Je démontre qu’il s’agit de cas de recatégorisation et non d’apocopes et classe les 15 adjectifs en 2 groupes en fonction de leur rôle dans la phrase. Pour 8 d’entre eux, utilisés comme adverbes d’intensité, et sur lesquels porte la majeure partie de ce travail, je propose que la recatégorisation soit le moyen choisi par les jeunes pour se créer de nouveaux marqueurs d’intensité percutants, selon le besoin constant, largement reconnu dans la littérature, de renouvellement de cette classe de mots. Pour les 7 autres adjectifs adverbialisés, dont les correspondants en -ment sont des adverbes de manière verbaux, je suggère que leur emploi (se laver rapide ou faire quelque chose tranquille) engendre un transfert de modification du verbe vers le sujet et que cela pourrait s’insérer dans une dynamique plus large de besoin d’expression par le locuteur de son attitude face à l’action, besoin créé par un emploi intensif des émoticônes.Show less
Une étude de la perception qu'ont les voyageurs français du XIXe s. des Pays-Bas et les images véhiculées dans leurs récits à l'aide de l'analyse de deux relations datant de 1857, respectivement...Show moreUne étude de la perception qu'ont les voyageurs français du XIXe s. des Pays-Bas et les images véhiculées dans leurs récits à l'aide de l'analyse de deux relations datant de 1857, respectivement celle de Maxime Du Camp et Louise Colet. Les deux auteurs sont relativement peu étudiés, mais la critique littéraire les ont redécouvert actuellement.Show less
This thesis analyses the phenomenon of disillusionment in Balzac's 'Illusions Perdues' and Joyce's 'Dubliners', concerning people, the metropolis (Paris/Dublin) and notions of success. Built upon...Show moreThis thesis analyses the phenomenon of disillusionment in Balzac's 'Illusions Perdues' and Joyce's 'Dubliners', concerning people, the metropolis (Paris/Dublin) and notions of success. Built upon close readings of the texts, the thematic approach serves to highlight the continuities and breaks between Romantic-Realism and the beginnings of Modernism, whilst reassessing the traditional Flaubert-Joyce link in favour of Balzac's own influence on Joyce.Show less
In this thesis we have studied the use of food and the use of ‘the table’ in some of the works by Gustave Flaubert and Guy de Maupassant, both well-known French writers from the 19th century. Many...Show moreIn this thesis we have studied the use of food and the use of ‘the table’ in some of the works by Gustave Flaubert and Guy de Maupassant, both well-known French writers from the 19th century. Many of the scenes seem to take place around the table, with meals often being described in detail. Specific research into this shows how the writers have devoted much detail and care to the theme of food, and that it is not purely ‘added’ due to the realistic/naturalistic nature of their works, or just for the sake of ‘showing off’ and ‘decoration’, as some studies might imply. By approaching the food as a theme on its own, its seemingly innocent character soon translates into social criticism.Show less
Dans le chef-d’œuvre de Marcel Proust, "À la recherche du temps perdu", le lesbianisme joue un rôle fondamental. Notre analyse de la représentation du lesbianisme dans le roman permet une meilleure...Show moreDans le chef-d’œuvre de Marcel Proust, "À la recherche du temps perdu", le lesbianisme joue un rôle fondamental. Notre analyse de la représentation du lesbianisme dans le roman permet une meilleure compréhension de ce rôle. Les différents personnages lesbiens et leurs rapports ont été étudiés profondément pour répondre aux questions fondamentales de notre recherche : quelles ressemblances et différences y a-t-il entre les différentes images du lesbianisme dans "À la recherche du temps perdu" et quelle en est la fonction dans le récit ? Il ressort de l’analyse que le lesbianisme dans la "Recherche" est représenté comme un phénomène équivoque à multiples facettes, que caractérisent la grande variété et la multiplicité. L’image du lesbianisme est caractérisée par des contrastes, qui semblent parfois même être contradictoires. En ce qui concerne la fonction des rapports lesbiens au niveau du récit, on en pourrait distinguer trois principales : l’augmentation de la jalousie du protagoniste, la diminution de ses doutes sur l’amour d’Albertine pour les femmes et l’accentuation de l’exclusion du narrateur mâle. Ces éléments contribuent tous à l’intrigue principale. Considérant l’importance des doubles dans la "Recherche", on pourrait en plus voir dans l’amour lesbien un double contrastant de l’amour proustien et de l’amour homosexuel masculin.Show less
Diphthongization of the vowel /e:/ into the diphthong [ei] is a common phenomenon in Dutch and can be transferred to an L2; we found in our bachelor thesis that, although the French vowel /e/...Show moreDiphthongization of the vowel /e:/ into the diphthong [ei] is a common phenomenon in Dutch and can be transferred to an L2; we found in our bachelor thesis that, although the French vowel /e/ should not be diphthongized, Dutch learners of French tend to do this. Interestingly, they do this more when the vowel /e/ occurs in the first syllable of a word. That is why we investigated in the current study if coarticulation with neighboring sounds plays a role in the diphthongization of the French vowel /e/ in Dutch learners of French. Furthermore, we didn't only focus on production, but we also investigated whether Dutch learners of French can perceive the difference between the French monophthong /e/ and the Dutch diphthong [ei] and whether neighboring sounds influence this perception in an AXB task. Finally, we examined whether the perception of the participants was correlated with their production. We found that the neighboring sounds indeed seem to influence both the production and the perception of the diphthongization of the French vowel /e/; when the /e/ was followed by the dental sound /t/, it was significantly more diphthongized than when it was followed by the labial sound /p/. Interestingly, although the /t/ gives rise to more diphthongization in production, the participants perceived the least diphthongs in a /t/ context in the perception task, which could be explained as a compensation effect for coarticulation. It was less clear whether the participants were able to distinguish between the monophthong /e/ and the diphthong [ei] in the perception task. Finally, we didn't find a correlation between the production and perception of the diphthongization of the French vowel /e/ in Dutch learners of French.Show less
Cette étude sociolinguistique historique examine le lien possible entre les mots d’emprunts français et le participe présent aux 18ème et 19ème siècles à Leyde. Il s'avère qu'il y a probablement un...Show moreCette étude sociolinguistique historique examine le lien possible entre les mots d’emprunts français et le participe présent aux 18ème et 19ème siècles à Leyde. Il s'avère qu'il y a probablement un lien entre les deux, puisqu'ils sont utilisés de la même manière.Show less
Le roman de banlieue réaliste-son émancipation-la déghettoisation-la trame de l'intrigue dans Viscéral-La perception et la reception du personnage dans Kiffe kiffe demain- L'apport culturel et...Show moreLe roman de banlieue réaliste-son émancipation-la déghettoisation-la trame de l'intrigue dans Viscéral-La perception et la reception du personnage dans Kiffe kiffe demain- L'apport culturel et idéologique dans Kiffer sa raceShow less
This thesis examines the role of natural elements in the fairy tales of Madame d'Aulnoy, written in the 17th century. It was assumed that nature did not play an important role in this century,...Show moreThis thesis examines the role of natural elements in the fairy tales of Madame d'Aulnoy, written in the 17th century. It was assumed that nature did not play an important role in this century, however, the opposite is true. Moreover, fairy tales were in vogue during this period and Madame d'Aulnoy contributed to this popularity. She had a detailed and innovative writing style and she had knowledge about animals and nature. This thesis aims to prove that nature was present in the literature during this century and more specifically in fairy tales, by answering the following questions: what natural elements does Madame d'Aulnoy use? ; How does she uses these elements? ; and finally, based on the work of Trivisani-Moreau (2001), we tried to determine the role of these elements by focusing on a thematic analysis of trees.Show less
The French Language has several past tenses, including the passé composé and the imparfait. These tenses are at first sight similar to two past tenses in Dutch, the voltooid tegenwoordige tijd and...Show moreThe French Language has several past tenses, including the passé composé and the imparfait. These tenses are at first sight similar to two past tenses in Dutch, the voltooid tegenwoordige tijd and the onvoltooid verleden tijd. For Dutch learners of the French language, it may seem that you use the French passé composé, when you have to use the voltooid tegenwoordige tijd in Dutch, because both the passé composé as the voltooid tegenwoordige tijd are composed of an auxiliary and a past participle. However, there is a difference with regard to the use of these tenses in Dutch and in French. The mother tongue, in this case Dutch, can interfere with the acquisition of the French tenses by Dutch learners. It is possible that there is a negative transfer of Dutch to French. The Dutch education could help learners to acquire the correct use. This thesis examines the transfer of Dutch to French concerning the past tenses and it examines the role that plays education in the process of transfer. In the thesis, we will discuss the past tenses that are used in French and in Dutch and we will examine the role of the mother tongue (Dutch), specially the process of transfer. Furthermore we will discuss the role of de education in this transfer. In which way the education can improve the acquirement of these tenses? With the help of a forced choise task, we will try to specify the role of the transfer of Dutch to French concerning the past tenses and we will try to examine the role of education in this acquisition.Show less
Fiction – in the hands of powerful men and women – can influence society and politics, directly or indirectly. Although the role of a novelist is different from the role of a politician, they both...Show moreFiction – in the hands of powerful men and women – can influence society and politics, directly or indirectly. Although the role of a novelist is different from the role of a politician, they both have responsibilities towards society, especially if they are famous and powerful men like Houellebecq and Macron. The public, citizens in a democracy, also have their responsibility to be active and critical, but may not always be aware of "the art of manipulation". In this age, in which storytelling and "fake news" seem to have more impact (or credibility) than arguments and facts, we might state that the power of skillful writers is more important than ever. In what way are Houellebecq and Macron responsible for (the impact of) their writings, what is the power of their words, and what does this power mean in France today? In this thesis we compare Submission and Revolution, using theories from literature but also from sociology and historiography, notably the concepts of "performativity" and “storytelling”, applicable in several fields. Attentive to their differences, we'll compare a literary and a political book, analysing the use of fiction combined with politics and vice versa.Show less