American criminal jury trials are more likely than not very intense and hectic. Often, these trials revolve around a murder, where it is the prosecutor’s job to persuade the jury to convict the...Show moreAmerican criminal jury trials are more likely than not very intense and hectic. Often, these trials revolve around a murder, where it is the prosecutor’s job to persuade the jury to convict the murderer. It is no wonder therefore, that the prosecutorial opening statements during these kids of trials stand symbol for cornerstones to persuasive oratory. This thesis starts off by describing how prosecutors can use Aristotle’s three modes of persuasion called ethos, pathos and logos, most effectively to persuade the jury during their opening statement and uses the findings on how to use these three modes to analyze and compare two real-life criminal jury trials that occurred in the United States in order to answer the following question: Is the use of prosecutorial persuasion in the opening statement of a trial resulting in conviction more compelling than the use of prosecutorial persuasion in the opening statement of a trial resulting in acquittal? The first trial that will be analyzed is the State of Arizona vs. Jodi Ann Arias, which is a trial where a woman named Jodi Arias was convicted of the brutal murder of her ex-boyfriend Travis Victor Alexander, prosecuted by Juan Martinez. The second trial to be analyzed is the State of Florida vs. Casey Marie Anthony, which is a trial where a woman named Casey Anthony was acquitted for the murder of her toddler daughter Caylee Anthony, prosecuted by Linda Burdick. Both these trials have been well known around the world and dealt with two of the most hated women in the United States.Show less
This paper contains a detailed analysis of the use and non-use of biased language amongst students of the BA English Language & Culture at the Leiden University. To be more precise, it...Show moreThis paper contains a detailed analysis of the use and non-use of biased language amongst students of the BA English Language & Culture at the Leiden University. To be more precise, it discusses the reasoning behind the use and non-use of biased language, as well as the contexts and manners in which they occur alongside the targeted groups of such biased language. There was a general tendency to abstain from using biased language in general with the exception of camaraderie forms among the subjects. Still, the participants reacted very differently to the instances of biased language pertaining to different groups of people, with religion being treated the least careful, and race the most careful.Show less
An exploration of lexical dialectology within the state of Maine in the Eastern United States. Discussed are regional lexical distinctions within the state, lists a glossary of regional words, and...Show moreAn exploration of lexical dialectology within the state of Maine in the Eastern United States. Discussed are regional lexical distinctions within the state, lists a glossary of regional words, and examines whether words specifically linked to the Maine region are disappearing or simply shifting to the larger New England variational words or Standard American words.Show less
During the first half of 2016, politics in the United Kingdom were taken over by the upcoming referendum about whether to leave the European Union, the so-called Brexit referendum. While there were...Show moreDuring the first half of 2016, politics in the United Kingdom were taken over by the upcoming referendum about whether to leave the European Union, the so-called Brexit referendum. While there were many campaign groups, only two of them were designated the official ‘Leave’ and ‘Remain’ side: Vote Leave Take Control (VoteLeave) supported leaving the EU, whereas Britain Stronger In (StrongerIn) campaigned for the UK to remain part of the EU. This battle resulted in a narrow victory for the Leave campaign, with 51.9 percent of the voters supporting Leave. There has been a lot of speculation on what the future brings for the United Kingdom. Bremmer for example, worries about how Britain’s financial world will be impacted after leaving the European Union and the difficulties in negotiating new (trade) relationships with current EU partners (16). However, nothing has been written so far on the role of persuasion strategies in this outcome. This thesis will bridge this gap by analysing the persuasion strategies used by both sides and measure how well they suited their audience of British voters.Show less
This thesis deals with legal translation in the area of intellectual property and specifically with the terminology of copyright rules. Book 9 of the Dutch Civil Code was intended to lay down rules...Show moreThis thesis deals with legal translation in the area of intellectual property and specifically with the terminology of copyright rules. Book 9 of the Dutch Civil Code was intended to lay down rules of intellectual property. However, due to the increased international nature of the legal area, this book has not been realised. This thesis researches to what extent copyright terminology is specific to legal systems and whether harmonisation of copyright rules has affected this system-specificity. By drawing on the principles of equivalence and translation strategies of De Groot (1993), De Groot & Van Laer (2006) and Cabré and Sager (1999) and Šarčević (1997) and taking the criteria for a terminology of NedTerm and the Conference of Translation Services of European States (COTSOES) into account, this thesis provides a comprehensive terminology for the area of copyright as an area within intellectual property rights.Show less
Automotive Customer Facing Literature is increasingly responsible for enticing customers to a car brand or car model. Low translation quality in this documentation can have a detrimental effect on...Show moreAutomotive Customer Facing Literature is increasingly responsible for enticing customers to a car brand or car model. Low translation quality in this documentation can have a detrimental effect on the quality perception of the brands by potential customers. This thesis examines the Automotive Customer Facing Literature, such as brochures, specification and price guides, and website texts, for the premium car brands Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR) and can be positioned within the fields of Terminology, Translation and Translation Quality Assessment. Since the involvement of the new communication agency Spark44, two years ago, the translation quality of ACFL texts has decreased due to mistranslations, incorrect language use and polluted translation memories and term bases. This is a serious problem that an increasing number of markets complain about. Therefore, this study has examined the translation process for JLR Nederland and provides a Translation Quality Assessment (TQA) utilizing the Multidoc adaptation of the SAE J2450 model, which was specially designed for assessing automotive translations. Based on the results from both the mathematical and observational TQA, the main problems have been identified and solution/advices for these problems have been presented. The aim of this thesis is to present solutions and advice to the involved companies to help them improve the translation quality of their target texts in the Netherlands and other European markets, and eventually all markets worldwide. This has been done in cooperation with the Dutch Product Manager and the in-house transcreator of Jaguar Land Rover Nederland (JLR NL), who, thanks to extensive translation reviews, is responsible for the high quality of the translated texts for the Dutch market, and the Product Manager of JLR NL. Therefore, this thesis will be presented to the Dutch Product manager of JLR NL, the in-house transcreator of JLR NL, Spark44, and the translation agency responsible for all the translations of Automotive Customer Facing Literature (above the line) for both brands.Show less
In this thesis, an in depth analysis of the terms mishandeling in Dutch law and assault in British and American law is drawn, to ascertain whether these terms could function as translations for...Show moreIn this thesis, an in depth analysis of the terms mishandeling in Dutch law and assault in British and American law is drawn, to ascertain whether these terms could function as translations for each other. The hypothesis is that these terms may be significantly different, and are therefore not suitable as translations for each other. Studies on equivalence and the componential analysis by Nida and the prototype analysis by Rosch serve as a theoretical framework for the comparison, as well as the legal context of the terminology. It may be concluded from the analysis that Dutch mishandeling and American assault may be used as translations for each other, but British assault is significantly different from these terms. Other translations are offered to solve this issue.Show less
Previous research has not covered how framing devices help American presidential candidates persuade the electorate while sustaining credibility in their rhetoric, especially at times when scandals...Show morePrevious research has not covered how framing devices help American presidential candidates persuade the electorate while sustaining credibility in their rhetoric, especially at times when scandals are revealed during presidential campaigns. This is the aim of this thesis, which has applied the use of framing techniques and their effect on the electorate to four case studies from the 2016 United States election.Show less
While swearing is a type of linguistic behavior we exhibit ourselves and experience with others in daily life on regular basis, it has received fairly little attention in relation to Dutch so far....Show moreWhile swearing is a type of linguistic behavior we exhibit ourselves and experience with others in daily life on regular basis, it has received fairly little attention in relation to Dutch so far. Though it is noted by various researchers that the influx of English-borrowed swearwords is continuously growing and gaining popularity (Rassin & Muris, 2005; Zenner, Speelman & Geeraerts, 2014; van Sterkenburg, 2008a, 2008b; Hindriks & van Hofwegen, 2014), little to no research has been conducted on its current role and proportion within the current Dutch swearing lexicon. This thesis seeks to provide an insight on the current swearing lexicon in Dutch with special regards to the role of native Dutch swearwords and Englishborrowed swearwords within this lexicon. The data for this research have been obtained through a survey that was filled in by 153 native speakers of Dutch who were born and raised in the Netherlands and raised monolingually. The main findings of this thesis showed that native Dutch swearwords are still preferred to Englishborrowed ones but also that their use is context-bound and situation-bound; in more serious situations, speakers preferred the use of Dutch swearwords, while in less serious situations they were more inclined to use an English-borrowed swearword. Furthermore, sociolinguistic factors such as age and gender influence a speaker’s swearing while regional background, educational background, religiosity and level of English do not. Though this study provides a small-scale insight on the current swearing lexicon and swearing behavior in Dutch, a larger-scaled study on swearing in Dutch with a broad variety of participants would definitely prove useful and interesting.Show less
This thesis researches the figurative language aspects of George Carlin’s language. It presents a grammar of humor for comedians who wish to copy his style of comedy. It aims to find out whether...Show moreThis thesis researches the figurative language aspects of George Carlin’s language. It presents a grammar of humor for comedians who wish to copy his style of comedy. It aims to find out whether written and spoken humorous language adheres to humor theories as proposed by Walter Nash and Salvatore Attardo. The questions whether Carlin was a typical American comedian and whether the figurative language he uses adds to the persuasiveness of his message are answered by a discussion of Nash and Attardo’s theories, a discussion of the iconic features of American humor, and a figurative language research adhering to the MIP and MIPVU methods of metaphor research and Nash and Attardo’s figurative language theories. Carlin deviates from the American humor standard and uses a considerable amount of figurative language in his writings and stand-up material. This thesis shows that this language adds to the persuasiveness of the underlying message. Ultimately, this thesis explains the importance of humor in everyday life.Show less
Legal language, the language of law, has its own characteristics which are not only expressed in different languages of different legal systems but also in different languages in the same legal...Show moreLegal language, the language of law, has its own characteristics which are not only expressed in different languages of different legal systems but also in different languages in the same legal system (e.g. French and English in the Canada). In the Netherlands and Suriname, the official language and the legal language is Dutch. However, there are differences in the Dutch used in these countries. The legal systems of the Netherlands and Suriname have gone their own way since 1975. This is expected to show in the Legal Dutch of both countries. This research investigates how the Legal Dutch of Suriname and the Netherlands, respectively, have developed. The aim of this study is to compare the legal language of these two legal systems and detect differences in the usage of Dutch legal language. As claimed by Marckwardt in 1958, (post)colonial varieties of a language change less than the variety spoken in the (former) mother country. This theory is referred to as the ‘colonial lag’. This research will be limited to criminal law. Within this area of law, legal texts will be compared. The expected outcome is that Surinamese Legal Dutch will be more conservative than the Legal Dutch in the Netherlands.Show less
This thesis aimed to establish whether a cline of cautiousness could be noted in the rhetoric of presidential candidates Donald J. Trump and H. Ross Perot. Purr words, snarl words and metaphors...Show moreThis thesis aimed to establish whether a cline of cautiousness could be noted in the rhetoric of presidential candidates Donald J. Trump and H. Ross Perot. Purr words, snarl words and metaphors were analyzed and categorized according to the American cultural values of equality, confrontation and orientation to action. Furthermore, constitutional keywords were divided into four different categories, namely that of 'The Presidency and Leadership', 'The System of Government', 'The United States Economy' and 'The Constitutional Tradition'. Ultimately, it was found that a cline of cautiousness could indeed be noted in the rhetoric of Trump and Perot, meaning that over the course of the elections, both presidential candidates lessened their emphasis on likeability and overall similarity to the electorate while they increased their emphasis on reliability and statesmanship instead.Show less
This study is about framing of migrants by political parties and non-profit organizations in the Netherlands. The recent increase in the influx of immigrants in the Netherlands has intensified the...Show moreThis study is about framing of migrants by political parties and non-profit organizations in the Netherlands. The recent increase in the influx of immigrants in the Netherlands has intensified the immigration debate and brought about more polarization in the debate about ‘refugees’; on the one hand the use of negative frames; and on the other positive frames. The frames used in the immigration debate aim to influence the general public’s attitude towards the issue. This study consisted of a content analysis of six political parties (VVD, PVV, PvdA, SP, SGP, CDA) and six non-profit organizations (Vluchtelingenwerk, Stichting Vluchteling, Stichting Gave, Cordaid, Rode Kruis, UNICEF) in two time periods to determine if there are any shifts in the way immigrants are framed. The first time period is before the recent increase, in 2012, and the second period is the current year, which is after the large influx of immigrants. The analyzed texts are the election programs of the political parties and the annual reports of the non-profit organizations. The content analysis focused on frame categories and the use of frame categories in combination with stock issues and means of persuasion. One of the main findings of this study is the need for a ‘neutral’ frame in the immigration debate. Secondly, the use of framing by some political parties in combination with social movement stock issues. And thirdly, the recent increase of immigrants in the Netherlands did not cause an increase and diversification of frame use in all the analyzed texts. The findings of this study complement our understanding of the frame use of these actors regarding immigrants in combination with stock issues and means of persuasion.Show less
In this research I have investigated the application of request strategies and application of force-mitigating or -strengthening constructions in requests for any kind of action performed in...Show moreIn this research I have investigated the application of request strategies and application of force-mitigating or -strengthening constructions in requests for any kind of action performed in English by Dutch and Israeli institutions towards their clients. In this setting, these non-native English speakers need to pragmatically adapt their linguistic performances to the untrained hierarchical setting of polite requesting towards subordinate addressees. It challenges them to conceal threats to the addressee’s face (Watts, 2005) even though no actual warmth of bond (positive politeness) or freedom to reject (negative politeness) is given. Due to the lack of formal language-training in this hierarchical setting I expected the Dutch and Israeli performances of the speech act to be influenced pragmatically by their linguistic and cultural backgrounds. The analytic approach was inspired from different fields of research: Second Language Acquisition, Linguistic Anthropology, Interlanguage and Intercultural Pragmatics. The analysed data is a collection of official letters sent out by different large institutions (universities, embassies and a hotel), of which I collected 32 letters (50 pages) in total, of which 14 letters were from Dutch sources (25 pages) and 18 letters were Israeli ones (25 pages). The letters were written solely for purposes in the work-environment and were sent in at a later moment in time, therefore the language was not affected by the speakers’ awareness of being linguistically analysed. I made use of Critical Discourse Analysis in order to investigate which linguistic features are variable in the pragmatic (illocutionary) force of requests, focussing on different request strategies (Blum-Kulka, 1987), mitigating efforts, coercives and types of reference to the interlocutors. The variations were validated by means of a statistical test for significance (z-test) and explained against the countries’ cultural backgrounds, making use of Hofstede’s method for cultural profiling with regard to power distance and uncertainty avoidance. The analysis showed that overall, the Dutch and Israeli use of request strategies and efforts in force-mitigation were surprisingly similar. The predominantly used strategy is characterised by the use of an imperative verb. Most other request utterances showed very explicit but variably less forceful strategies. Mitigators were used in relatively equal frequency, although less by the Dutch in the imperative construction. Remarkable differences were found in the overtness of speaker-reference among the Israelis, especially in more commercial settings (evoking higher politeness). In especially face-threatening situations, for instance in requesting the addressee for money without certainty the product/service being delivered, the Dutch showed a deviating strategy which converted the request into a construction of the addressee’s acceptation. The underlying processes which caused relative directness were primarily related to linguistic borrowings for the Dutch. The predominantly used strategy to request showed application of an imperative force with less mitigation efforts than the Israelis did. This suggests that the Dutch were not strongly aware of the force of their requests, which supports the idea that they adopted the imperative strategy as a direct translation (with strong syntactic similarity) of the Dutch standard question- formation, based on the verb’s stem in the clause-initial position. For the Israelis the larger variety in request strategies and lack of similarity between the predominantly encountered constructions and the Hebrew request constructions revealed no strong tendency for linguistic transfer in this untrained pragmatically-challenging setting. Although linguistic transfers are found rarely, the Israelis do demonstrate higher transfer of their cultural values, by which they strongly cherish unambiguity (by adopting relatively direct strategies) and prefer an approach of social connectedness over hierarchical deference in contexts of increased necessity for politeness.Show less
In this thesis I explore several translation theories and strategies in the context of a translation of parts of volume IV of the English Atlas into the modern Dutch language. This volume of the...Show moreIn this thesis I explore several translation theories and strategies in the context of a translation of parts of volume IV of the English Atlas into the modern Dutch language. This volume of the English Atlas concerns the Low Countries, which provides an interesting cultural and historical angle for translation into the Dutch languageShow less
Literary translation is a separate field within translation studies demanding its own approaches. This argument is supported in Part I by an assessment of the "Hermeneutical approach" to...Show moreLiterary translation is a separate field within translation studies demanding its own approaches. This argument is supported in Part I by an assessment of the "Hermeneutical approach" to Translation Studies, as represented in the thought of Jakobson, Benjamin, Derrida, Ricoeur, Jiri Levy, and George Steiner, which offers a strong foundation. Their thinking falls together in considering translation and interpretation to be full equivalents, entailing never-ending processes; in appreciating the holistic quality of the literary work of art and translation's relationship to it, as well as translation's role in the Nachleben of the work of literature; and in demanding creative language use and linguistic hospitality as part of the translator's labor. Part II of the thesis places the tasks of the literary translator as editor/redactor, particularly in consideration of the use of paratexts, on this foundation as one way of limiting hermeneutical activity. The translator redactor must act as a book compiler, a scholar-annotator, and an analyst commentator, or at least consider these roles. In this way, the thesis unites theory and practice while promoting the positive utility of hermeneutics for translation and yet setting limits for the translator's interventions, particularly in helping the reader's own process of interpretation by providing paratextual guides and aids.Show less
For persuasion, attitudes are targeted through the transmission of a message. This message is usually transmitted through the medium of language, with all its cultural meanings. Additionally,...Show moreFor persuasion, attitudes are targeted through the transmission of a message. This message is usually transmitted through the medium of language, with all its cultural meanings. Additionally, attitudes are also connected to culture, and thus persuasion is culture specific. This has implications for translation, as the translator finds him- or herself in the perfect spot for intercultural mediation. If we want the persuasive message to have the same effect on the target audience as it does on the source audience, then the message needs to be adapted to the target culture. There is still a debate on how much translators should be allowed to intervene in these persuasive messages, and the commissioner seems to have the biggest influence on the way the message is translated. In practice, we don’t see much cultural colouring in speeches by Mark Rutte and David Cameron, rendering these speeches relatively culture neutral.Show less
In this thesis I have analysed the linguistic features that are used to distance oneself from members of the outgroup, and how these features show change when a character redefines the social self...Show moreIn this thesis I have analysed the linguistic features that are used to distance oneself from members of the outgroup, and how these features show change when a character redefines the social self by breaking away from the ingroup, making use of Eve Harris’ novel The Marrying of Chani Kaufman (2013) as a corpus. The framework of Critical Discourse Analysis was applied, and adapted for use in fictional literature in terms of analysed features and interpretational dimensions. The features that were analysed focus on the use of locational cues (e.g. deixis), framing of time (e.g. narration time, tense and aspect), and choice of diction (e.g. adjectives, adverbials). For the interpretation of the results I deviated from Fairclough's commonly used three dimensional analysis structure (Jørgensen & Phillips, 2002, pp. 81-86), which is more suitable for use of non-fictional works in their relation to extratextual links and other cultural elements. Instead I made use of an interpretation that extrapolates the dimensions to aspects of the individual as they show in fiction: ideology, constructing reality, and social inequality. In sum, the analysis reveals that features with regard to social inequality, especially thought representation, demonstratives and focalisation, change when Rivka identifies herself increasingly with members of the outgroup.Show less
