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
