Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Paralanguage'

In recent years, with the diffusion of streaming platforms and the growing offer of audiovisual products, media accessibility is back in the spotlight. The d/Deaf and hard of hearing audience needs specific tools such as SDH to fully enjoy films and TV series. Indeed, the rendering of the specific labels describing sound effects, music, paralanguage contained in SDH is the focus of this dissertation. The aims of this work are firstly to raise awareness of the needs of the d/Deaf and HoH audience; secondly, to provide a complete review of sound effects, paralanguage and music in SDH both in the academic and professional world; thirdly, to observe the practical actions of translators faced with the challenge of interlingually translate these elements from English into Italian with a master template. Going into detail, the dissertation is composed of four chapters. The first chapter covers the general aspects of AVT and accessibility, including accessibility legislation in some selected States, and illustrates some ongoing controversies regarding the needs of d/Deaf and hard of hearing audience, like the preference for SDH vs. Sign Language. The second chapter focuses on intersemiotic labels (e.g. [grunting]), starting with a review of academic and professional norms, then giving a detailed overview of each element (i.e. sound effects, music, paralanguage), with a dedicated chapter on the issues of interlingually translating these phenomena into SDH. The third chapter, after a brief overview of corpus studies and AVT, presents the corpora built with the SDH of a known streaming platform (especially a parallel corpus of aligned EN>IT SDH), the methodology of the case study, the software used (Sketch Engine) and the queries performed. Finally, the fourth chapter contains the results and discussion of the case study, mainly consisting in a qualitative analysis of specific translational EN>IT strategies based on the concordance lines pertaining to the parallel corpus.

This research investigates the effect of the interplay of paralanguage and language on the accessibility of written texts. It identifies textual factors that may hinder the reader's understanding of the message. Studies of reading comprehension have traditionally concentrated on the language of texts. Many written texts, however, also rely on paralinguistic features to convey their messages, and to complement, illustrate, clarify and organise their content. Hence, it is paramount that a study investigating obstacles for reading comprehension be able to account for the complex web of paralinguistic devices present on the page. This work investigates such paralinguistic devices, focusing particularly upon the presentation of letters and words, the layout of the page, and the illustration of the written text. Parallel to the analysis of these nonlinguistic devices, language is also examined. A particular text type has been selected to provide the material for the analysis: emergency procedures. This choice was motivated not only by the fact that this text type is a rich source of paralinguistic and linguistic features, but also because accessibility in emergency texts is vital. In addition, emergency procedures are only minimally influenced by political, religious and other ideological factors. A corpus of 126 emergency procedures is analysed and related to the literature on paralinguistic features of written texts. Several combinations of linguistic and paralinguistic features are examined and, subsequently, hypotheses about how they affect the reading process are formulated. Verbal protocols and interviews are used to gain access to readers' interpretative processes when dealing with texts from the corpus. They aim to provide an insight into the reader's perception of the interaction of elements from both paralinguistic and linguistic structures and to evince accessibility problems. The application of this procedure both verifies the hypotheses and reveals new facts which were not predicted, thus increasing understanding of the factors which contribute to the accessibility of written texts

The Internet is in many cases our primary source for communication. As more communicative options online are introduced and become a part of our life, the language of the Internet, so called Netspeak, becomes a part of our language. The aim of this paper was to find out whether there is a difference in the use of Netspeak between teenagers and adults. The investigation was based on two message boards, one where the majority is teenagers and one where the majority is adults. Four different features of Netspeak were studied: exaggerated use of punctuation; exaggerated use of capital letters; abbreviations; and emoticons. All features are substitutes for paralanguage.

The results show that teenagers are more likely to use features such as exaggerated use of punctuation and capitals, and abbreviations. Adults are, however, more likely to use emoticons than teenagers.

Background: During a house demonstration a real estate agent have the chance to make new contacts which is of big importance to spread the word about the agency and keep up with the competition. If the realtor makes a good impression on the customers, it increases the chance for making the customers return to the same realtor when time comes to sell their own house. The interpretation of this non-verbal communication has been shown to have a fundamental effect on the participant’s perception of the encounter. This makes the study aim regards investigating which non-verbal signals a real estate agent express.

Purpose: This study has a two-parted purpose whereas the first part intends to point out similarities and differences in a realtor’s non-verbal communication. The other part aim to create an understanding for the consequences a real estate agent’s non-verbal communication can lead to.

Theory: To fulfil the purpose, theories about non-verbal communication were chosen which brings the expressions kinesics, proxemics, physical appearance and paralanguage into use.

Research method: As an empirical research method observations were used to study the real estate agents non-verbal communication. Four educated and authorised realtors were chosen to be observed at different house demonstrations. The focus was set on the realtors interactions with the customers.

Conclusion: Results from the observations point out that there are both similarities and differences in a realtor’s non-verbal communication. Depending on how this communication takes place, which can differ between realtors, different consequences can be pointed out in the interaction with the customers.

Keywords: Non-verbal communication, Real estate agent, House demonstrations, Kinesics, Proxemics, Paralanguage

While previous studies have examined the educational system in Ghana, there seemed to be very little or no studies that had explored participation and engagement through teacher-child interactions in early childhood education in Ghanaian classrooms (Twum-Danso, 2013). The purpose of this video-based multiple case studies qualitative study of three Kindergarten classrooms in Cape Coast in the Central Region of Ghana was to identify verbal and nonverbal prompts that related to children’s participation in Ghanaian Kindergarten classroom settings. The data for the study were secondary, having been collected by a team of researchers for the New Civics Grant Program in an initial study to find apprenticeship and civic themes in Ghanaian Kindergarten classrooms. The design for the study was a qualitative video analysis of three early childhood centers in Cape Coast in the Central Region of Ghana using video cameras to capture classroom interactions to be able to answer the questions: What is the nature of Ghanaian Kindergarten teachers’ verbal and non-verbal prompts that relate to children’s participation during the instructional process? In what ways do children in Ghanaian Kindergartens participate during the instructional process? I applied the sociocultural perspective of Rogoff’s (1990, 1993, 2003) three foci of analysis that provided a useful conceptual tool for analyzing research with young children (Robbin, 2007). It highlights how children’s thinking is integrated with and constituted by contexts, collaboration, and signs and cultural tools (p. 48). The findings indicated that Ghanaian Kindergarten teachers’ verbal and nonverbal prompts that related to children’s participation during the instructional process were the use of questions, appreciation, gestures etc. The findings also showed that the ways in which Ghanaian Kindergarten children participated during the instructional process were verbal/oral responses, doing exercises and activities, and also using gestures. It was also found that pedagogical attitudes such as pedagogical sensitivity and understanding, discussion and conversation, and rules and management related to children’s participation during the instructional process. Ghanaian specific culturally relevant ways and practices of interactions between teachers and children were observed in the participant schools. Teachers used silence to convey messages of disapproval to the children, used eyeing to send messages of disapproval, and also used punishments and rewards to either encourage good behavior or stop bad behavior. Singing and dancing, building classroom community, and value on interpersonal connections were also found to be Ghanaian specific culturally relevant ways of interactions that teachers applied to the classroom interactions. All the teachers in the participant schools showed various forms of appreciation to the children as a way of reinforcing their behaviors and also for praise and redirection of attention. From the findings of the study, the following recommendations are made: 1. Pre service teacher preparation, and teacher education in general should be reorganized so that the contexts in which the teachers operate will then be guided by contextually relevant pedagogy (Young, 2010). Ghana needs a type of pedagogy that will empower teachers intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes (p. 248). 2. The provision of adequate teaching and learning materials would enable teachers engage children more on exercises and activities during the instructional process. The materials would help teachers to provide enough activities to engage the children’s attention during the instructional process. 3. Ghanaian specific culturally relevant ways of interactions between teachers and children must be taught as a course at the University of Cape Coast to help in the preparation of pre-service teachers.

3D Motion capture is a medium that plots motion, typically human motion, converting it into a form that can be represented digitally. It is a fast evolving field and recent inertial technology may provide new artistic possibilities for its use in live performance. Although not often used in this context, motion capture has a combination of attributes that can provide unique forms of collaboration with performance arts. The inertial motion capture suit used for this study has orientation sensors placed at strategic points on the body to map body motion. Its portability, real-time performance, ease of use, and its immunity from line-of-sight problems inherent in optical systems suggest it would work well as a live performance technology. Many animation techniques can be used in real-time. This research examines a broad cross-section of these techniques using four practice-led cases to assess the suitability of inertial motion capture to live performance. Although each case explores different visual possibilities, all make use of the performativity of the medium, using either an improvisational format or interactivity among stage, audience and screen that would be difficult to emulate any other way. A real-time environment is not capable of reproducing the depth and sophistication of animation people have come to expect through media. These environments take many hours to render. In time the combination of what can be produced in real-time and the tools available in a 3D environment will no doubt create their own tree of aesthetic directions in live performance. The case study looks at the potential of interactivity that this technology offers.

3D Motion capture is a medium that plots motion, typically human motion, converting it into a form that can be represented digitally. It is a fast evolving field and recent inertial technology may provide new artistic possibilities for its use in live performance. Although not often used in this context, motion capture has a combination of attributes that can provide unique forms of collaboration with performance arts. The inertial motion capture suit used for this study has orientation sensors placed at strategic points on the body to map body motion. Its portability, real-time performance, ease of use, and its immunity from line-of-sight problems inherent in optical systems suggest it would work well as a live performance technology. Many animation techniques can be used in real-time. This research examines a broad cross-section of these techniques using four practice-led cases to assess the suitability of inertial motion capture to live performance. Although each case explores different visual possibilities, all make use of the performativity of the medium, using either an improvisational format or interactivity among stage, audience and screen that would be difficult to emulate any other way. A real-time environment is not capable of reproducing the depth and sophistication of animation people have come to expect through media. These environments take many hours to render. In time the combination of what can be produced in real-time and the tools available in a 3D environment will no doubt create their own tree of aesthetic directions in live performance. The case study looks at the potential of interactivity that this technology offers.

In this thesis, I use a multi-perspectival analytical approach to investigate the paralanguage of naturally occurring work-based Instant Message conversations. My research into the field of computer-mediated discourse analysis (CMDA) has shown that written non-verbal cues have been considered as important means of contextualising text-based computer-mediated communication (CMC), yet their scholarly treatment has been scant. Previous findings about the importance paralanguage in CMD have been further strengthened by the findings of the field of business communication: in the virtual work environment the lack of audio-visual information has been found to contribute to miscommunication and consequently hinder cooperation. The linguistic devices and discursive strategies that are used in order to compensate for the limitations imposed by the text-based communicative channel have therefore been identified as in need of further exploration. In this thesis, I have outlined a CMC cue system based on the previous findings of CMDA to investigate the range of cues used as non-verbal signals in workplace text- based CMC. I have also used a multi-perspectival approach based on the theoretical frameworks of interactional sociolinguistics, communities of practice, relational work and politeness and conversation analysis (CA) in order to investigate the range of interactional roles of paralanguage during computer-mediated business conversations. The interpretive CA-informed analysis I have conducted has provided evidence of the important role of non-verbal signals during the contextualisation of complex transactional and relational communicative goals in the workplace. The analysis in this thesis has provided two significant results: firstly, by incorporating the findings of research into paralanguage of spoken as well as other written genres it resulted in a comprehensive description of the orthographic and typographic non-verbal cues used in text-based CMC and, secondly, by drawing on the multi-perspectival framework, it allowed for a description of the complex interactional functions of these cues during the contextualisation of content and relational intent and the creation of interactional coherence in IM.

The importance of mother tongue-based bilingual medium of instruction in bilingual and multilingual classrooms has been evidenced in ample studies in different parts of the world including Ghana. However, studies on how bilingualism is carried out with respect to classroom displays in bilingual education is very scant and even none, as far as I know, in Ghana. Also, there is emerging research on teachers’ translanguaging practices in other parts of the world including South Africa but research on instructional use of translanguaging is yet to be conducted in Ghana. Therefore, this study examined kindergarten teachers’ bilingual practices with regard to classroom displays as well as their translanguaging practices at morning assembly in some selected schools in the Cape Coast Metropolis in the Central Region of Ghana. The study used the Ghanaian part of a secondary data that was sponsored by the New Civics Grants from the Spencer Foundation in the USA. Joint research team from the USA and Ghana collected these data in six kindergarten classrooms in each of the two countries. Even though the initial purpose of the study was to examine how classroom wall displays connected with young children's roles as apprentice citizens, repurposing it for this study was suitable because all the classrooms photographed are public schools that use the NALAP in their ECE classrooms. However, four schools participated because they used the local languages that I can read and write. Guided by the purpose, two research questions and two different data (photographs of classroom wall displays and video of morning assembly) were used. I used qualitative design through visual research method and Barbara Rogoff’s (1990, 2003) socio-cultural theory as my theoretical lens. The photo data was analyzed semiotically (Chandler, 2007, Semetsky, 2010, 2017) and used discourse analysis with the big “D” for the analysis of the video data (Gee, 2014, Gee & Handford, 2012). The findings indicated that all the schools except one had bilingually labeled displays among their classroom displays (though bilingual labeling was given less attention) with the major language pair for the bilingual labeling being English and Mfantse languages. It also came out that most of the bilingually labeled displays were posted within the eye level of the students. More so, with regard to the sign type, most of the bilingually labeled displays were iconic. Regarding the teachers’ translanguaging practices at morning assembly, the findings indicated that all the participating schools and teachers translanguaged during the conduct of their respective morning assembly. It was revealed that aside from using translanguaging as comprehension enhancer, it was also used as a downtoner as well as alienation tool linguistically. However, the findings showed that English only displays far dominated both the bilingual labeling and translanguaging practices of the teachers. Based on the findings, the study recommended that ECE colleges of education in Ghana should include knowledge and skills for bilingual labeling in their pre-service preparation since the nation is a multilingual state. Also, pedagogical use of translanguaging should be included in teacher education curriculum so that teachers would be intentional about its usage in instruction delivery. In addition, higher education like University of Cape Coast (UCC) and University of Education, Winneba (UEW) which are the main trainers of teacher educators in the country need to develop curriculum for bilingual teaching with attention to effective design and use of bilingual labeling and training manuals for ECE teachers on the effective use of bilingual labeling and pedagogical use of translanguaging in Ghanaian ECE education. More so, there should professional development on the effective use of bilingual classroom display as well as translanguaging for in-service teachers in Ghana so to promote the academic achievement of the bi/multilingual students Ghanaian schools serve.

En esta investigación se proponen como objetivos generales definir y desarrollar el método de análisis multisistémico que permita examinar las relaciones que se establecen entre diferentes sistemas del código oral, y examinar cómo se establecen estas correlaciones durante la emisión en habla espontánea de partículas modales del alemán o combinaciones de partículas modales. Este trabajo se ha estructurado en cuatro bloques. El primer bloque está dedicado a la exposición del marco teórico; el segundo se centra en la metodología que se va a seguir; en el tercero, se explica la forma en que se realiza el análisis de los datos y se presentan y se discuten los resultados obtenidos; en el cuarto y último bloque se exponen las conclusiones y se proponen futuras investigaciones. En el marco teórico se tratan de forma general algunas cuestiones sobre la comunicación humana (capítulo 2) y, teniendo en cuenta las características de esta investigación, se centrará la atención, en primer lugar, en examinar el fenómeno de las partículas modales del alemán (capítulo 3), ya que en ellas se focaliza la realización de esta investigación; en segundo lugar, se presenta el estado de la cuestión sobre comunicación no verbal (capítulo 4) y específicamente los estudios que tienen que ver con este trabajo; y, por último, en el capítulo 5 se describe el método de análisis melódico del habla (Cantero, 2002) porque es el método analítico del componente verbal que por su rigor y objetividad se ha considerado óptimo para la realización de los análisis melódicos. En el segundo bloque temático se exponen, en primer lugar, los objetivos (capítulo 6) que se han propuesto en esta investigación, centrados en la evaluación del método de análisis multisistémico y su aplicación para examinar la coestructuración que se establece entre los sistemas analizados durante la emisión de partículas modales del alemán. En el capítulo 7 se justifica la opción metodológica propuesta y se describen las fases analíticas de que consta. El siguiente capítulo (capítulo 8) está dedicado al establecimiento y descripción del corpus constituido por 406 enunciados obtenidos a partir de emisiones de habla espontánea. El capítulo continúa con la explicación del procedimiento utilizado para la digitalización de los enunciados seleccionados, así como también de las características de los informantes. Por último, se presentan los archivos de audio y de vídeo utilizados para realizar los análisis correspondientes. En el tercer bloque temático se explican los procedimientos analíticos realizados con el corpus de datos, así como la exposición de los resultados obtenidos y su discusión. En los capítulos 9 y 10 se presentan los procedimientos e instrumentos utilizados para efectuar el análisis intrasistémico del componente melódico y del kinésico; se determinan tanto las marcas melódicas como las marcas kinésicas que posibilitan el examen de las correlaciones melódicokinésicas y las partículas modales del alemán. Por último, se exponen los resultados obtenidos y la discusión a partir del análisis intersistémico de los datos audiovisuales seleccionados. En el último bloque se exponen las conclusiones a las que se ha llegado en base a los objetivos planteados, así como también diferentes propuestas para futuras investigaciones. Los resultados de la investigación constatan que, mediante la aplicación del método de análisis multisistémico propuesto, ha sido posible establecer correlaciones a nivel intersistémico entre marcas melódicas, kinésicas y partículas modales del alemán a partir de la estructura jerárquica de los componentes de cada sistema analizado.
The general aims proposed in this research are, on the one hand, to develop the Multi-system Analysis method and to examine the relationships between different systems of the oral code. On the other hand, I consider how these relationships are set when German modal particles are uttered in spontaneous spoken speech. In the first section is presented the theoretical framework and some issues about human communication are discussed (chapter 2). German modal particles are firstly considered in chapter 3 because this research focuses on them; then, the state of the art of Nonverbal Communication is presented (chapter 4) and specially those works concerning the topic of this research; finally, in chapter 5 the Melodic Analysis of Speech method (Cantero, 2002) is described. In the second section, the objectives of the research are formulated (chapter 6). They focus on to evaluate the Multi-system Analysis method and its application to study the co-structuring between the analysed systems and German modal particles. In chapter 7, the proposed analysis method is justified and its analytical stages are described. Chapter 8 has to do with the corpus description, which consists of 406 spontaneous speech utterances. It continues with showing how the selected utterances are recorded as well as how the subjects are selected. Finally, audio and video files are presented. The third section deals with pitch and kinesic procedures followed, technical tools used as well as the discussion of the results. Chapter 9 and 10 present procedures and technical tools used to do intra-system analysis of pitch and kinesic data; then, pitch and kinesic marks have been set to correlate pitch-kinesic marks and German modal particles. The section ends discussing the results obtained considering the inter-system point of view of the audiovisual data analysis. The last section presents the concluding remarks as well as several suggestions for future research. The results of this investigation state that it has been possible to achieve inter-system correlations between pitch marks, kinesic marks and German modal particles using the Multisystem Analysis method proposed, taking into account the hierarchical structure of the components in each analysed system.

abstract: ABSTRACT German history during the 20th century was extremely complex—containing numerous events that can be labelled horrific and traumatic. The horrors and traumas of WWII forced Germans to actively address their country’s National Socialist pasts by taking responsibility for their roles, creating a national memory about the Nazi atrocities and implementing the reparations program, the Wiedergutmachungsabkommen, with the newly formed nation of Israel. The social theorist Theodor Adorno wrote in his 1959 essay “Was bedeutet: Aufarbeitung der Vergangenheit?” about three subtly nuanced terms: Aufarbeitung der Vergangenheit, Verarbeitung der Vergangenheit and Vergangensheitbewältigung, in which he addresses the various ways that Germany was dealing with traumatic events from this National Socialist past. Adorno specifically demanded a constant renegotiation of the past or Verarbeitung der Vergangenheit because it is the only way forward, through which people remember the horrors and atrocities of the past and work towards not allowing those events to occur again. This thesis applies the theoretical framework set forth by Adorno to explore efforts to engage the DDR and Stasi past after the Fall of the Wall and reunification. Specifically, it examines the concept of Verarbeitung der Vergangenheit and demonstrates how Thomas Brussig’s satirical novel Helden wie wir, and two documentary films Aus Liebe zum Volk and Das Wunder von Leipzig are examples of working upon this DDR and Stasi past. More specifically, the utilization of humor in the novel and the paralanguage modifications in the films provide insight to the feelings and emotions that individuals had about their pasts in the DDR. It is through this expression of emotion and feelings while writing and speaking about the past, which serves as the immediate moment when individuals actively working upon their pasts.
Dissertation/Thesis
Masters Thesis German 2016

Esta investigação tem como objetivo analisar a comunicação não verbal exercida pelos apresentadores de televisão, na função de pivô durante a leitura das notícias. O ponto central que enquadra este objetivo foi o de perceber de que forma os modelos apresentados na literatura pode ajudar a analisar a comunicação dos profissionais de televisão no contexto televisivo nacional. O recorte teórico permitiu revelar, através das dimensões biológica e cultural, as principais propostas e os principais modelos, nomeadamente a Acão Visual, Cinesia, Cronógrafo, Espaço Envolvente & Aparência, Háptico, Paralinguística, Proxémica e o Sistema de Codificação da Ação Facial. A pesquisa empírica desenvolvida em Portugal, inclui a observação de 36 vídeos do ano de 2016, e 12 entrevistas a apresentadores de televisão dos canais RTP, SIC e TVI. O corpus de análise permitiu criar uma ferramenta de observação que se propõe e se inscreve como Matriz R-CNV. A investigação permitiu concluir que é possível analisar os apresentadores de televisão com recurso aos principais modelos apresentados na literatura, nomeadamente pelas propostas de Birdwhistell (1952, 1970) e Ekman e Friesen (1969, 1978). Da mesma forma, permitiu concluir que numa relação de simultaneidade entre o não verbal e o verbal existe, pode dizer-se, uma maior predominância da comunicação não verbal sobre a comunicação verbal. Constata-se também que, apesar das evidências observadas em geral, os jornalistas apresentadores não fazem uso de técnicas específicas em comunicação não verbal, não ambicionam a criação de personalidades televisivas diferenciadores, ou realizam atos de representação durante a leitura das notícias, apesar de terem conhecimento da sua importância e de manifestarem cuidados a ter perante a exposição púbica.
This research aims to analyze the nonverbal communication performed by television hosts, while reading the news. The central point that allowed us to frame the purpose, was to understand how the models portrayed in the literature could help to observe these professionals as national television anchors. The theoretical framework allowed to reveal, through the biological and cultural dimensions, the main proposals and models, namely Chronemics, Haptics, Kinesics, Oculesics, Paralanguage, Physical Environment & Appearance, Proxemics and the Facial Action Coding System. The empirical research developed in Portugal, includes the observation of 36 videos from the year 2016, and 12 interviews with television anchors of the channels RTP, SIC and TVI. The corpus analysis allowed us to create an observation tool that is proposed and inscribed as Matrix R-NVC. The research concluded that it is possible to observe television anchors using the main models portrayed in the literature, namely by the proposals of Birdwhistell (1952, 1970) and Ekman and Friesen (1969, 1978). Also, it was concluded that in a relationship of simultaneity between nonverbal and verbal, there is a greater predominance of nonverbal communication over verbal communication. It is also noted that, despite the evidence observed, the anchors do not use specific techniques in nonverbal communication, do not aim to create differentiating television personalities, or perform acts of representation while reading the news, despite being aware of the their importance and the need to be careful about public exposure.

I became aware of the frequency of the traumatic effect of parental divorce on the lives of the children involved. My research intervention is investigating what value working with clay as therapeutic medium could have for young children from divorced homes. I used non-directive instruction to see whether it enabled children to relate and express their personal experiences more easily . Some children seemed hesitant about projecting their own emotions onto the clay models but, in the end, rich information and spontaneous communication was achieved. The analysis and interpretation of the data from the therapy sessions clearly showed the value of using clay as a therapeutic medium when working with children from divorced homes. By expressing and sharing feelings and emotions experienced during and after parental divorce, the participants indicated that it helped them to work through guilt and other issues, and to come to terms with the reality of the changes in their lives.
Psychology of Education
M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)