After providing an historical overview of the French spelling system and orthographic variation, this study analyzes selected internal (i.e., linguistic) factors and one external (i.e., social) factor that can influence the use of diacritics in online French-language chat sessions. From a corpus of synchronous computer-mediated communication, 3,855 tokens of graphemes capable of bearing diacritics were coded with the following scheme: Letter, Diacritic, Grapheme (i.e., Letter and Diacritic combined), Date of Participation, and Age Group of Participant. A multivariate (VARBRUL) analysis determined that Grapheme exerts the most influence on variation.

Numerous laws are being directed toward subduing the visible presence of Islam throughout France, and in return French Muslims are becoming bolder in the projection of their faith. This thesis examines the presence of Islam in France throughout history and in contemporary French civilization. Specifically, this thesis addresses the issues regarding the visible presence of Islam in France through such institutions as mosques and how they are the key symbols representing the prominence of Islam in France. It looks at what lies in the collective French mind that creates such an influence on today's policies and outlook, as well as identifies the key characters that dominate the current affairs surrounding Islam in France. The thesis reviews the country's past relations with the visible presence of Islam through the controversies surrounding the construction of famous mosques. In addition, this thesis underlines key areas where both the State and the Muslim population must make concessions in order to avoid further conflict.

This thesis is an examination of the printed media in France (1955-1963), as represented by two mainstream newspapers: Le Monde (left-centrist) and Le Figaro (right-centrist). Using these newspapers, as well as Gallup polls recorded at the time, this study explores correlations of what was reported in newspapers and how French public opinion evolved during the course of the war. These two major sources of information are shown to have given contradictory information, thus accounting for some of the paradoxes found in public opinion polls. Specifically, the paradoxes analyzed in the study concern the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) and the Pieds-Noirs (the European population of North Africa).

The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of history and culture on the passage of the comic book to the animated film. Although the comic book has both historical and cultural components, the latter often undergoes a cultural shift in the animation process. Using the Smurfs as a case study, this investigation first reviews existing literature pertaining to the comic book as an art form, the influence of history and culture on Smurf story plots, and the translation of the comic book into a moving picture. This study then utilizes authentic documents and interviews to analyze the perceptions of success and failure in the transformation of the Smurf comic book into animation: concluding that original meaning is often altered in the translation to meet the criteria of cultural relevance for the new audiences.

This study offers a partial reduplication of a 2006 study by Williams, which focused primarily on the analysis of the quality of translation produced by online software, namely Yahoo!® Babelfish, Freetranslation.com, and Google Translate. Since the data for the study by Williams were collected in 2004 and the data for present study in 2012, this gives a lapse of eight years for a diachronic analysis of the differences in quality of the translations provided by these online services. At the time of the 2006 study by Williams, all three services used a rule-based translation system, but, in October 2007, however, Google Translate switched to a system that is entirely statistical in nature. Thus, the present study is also able to examine the differences in quality between contemporary statistical and rule-based approaches to machine translation.

The thesis states that the confidant in the tragedies of Jean Baptist Racine evolves from the traditional servant figure to a sophisticated intimate of the principal character. The confidant's identity becomes synonymous with that of the principal character: he appears as his alter ego. The sources used are six of Racine's secular tragedies, in addition to critical works and essays of his writings. The tragedies included in this study are La Thebaide, whose secondary characters serve as a comparison to the more developed confidants as found in Andromaque, B /r/nice, Mithridate, Britannicus, and Phedre. Racine presents a variety of tragic characters whose multifaceted personality emerges through the intervention of their confidant. Representing one side of the protagonist's character, or his "other self, " the confidant becomes Racine's dramatic tool to portray the internal struggle in all its aspects. Racine's preoccupation with moral issues and his desire to instruct his audience pervade his writings. It is thus possible to trace the development of the confidant from his part as self-effacing messenger to his role as alter ego to the principal figure where he dramatically demonstrates the tragic, inner division of man.

This thesis is focused on dynamic assessment (DA), an instructional approach based on Vygotskian sociocultural theory, applied to French pronunciation instruction, which can be neglected or inconsistent in the foreign language curriculum. DA aims to combine instruction and assessment into a cooperative, mediated approach in which the mediator works with the learner to identify and develop emergent abilities. These emergent abilities can appear in what is often referred to as the zone of proximal development (ZPD), or the difference between what a learner can do independently and what he/she can do with mediation, which in the present study was the difference between what the participant could pronounce correctly with or without mediation. In carrying out an individual DA session with a learner, the author aimed to find suggestions of potential benefits by applying DA to French pronunciation instruction and gain a more detailed understanding of the learner's performance than is generally possible from a traditional assessment, which is totally devoid of mediation for the sake of validity and reliability. The study includes a discussion of some potential benefits and limitations related to the use of DA for teaching French pronunciation to intermediate L2 learners based on what was observed in …

This thesis analyzes and demonstrates the similarities and differences between some of the national symbols of France and the United States. This includes the shared and borrowed aspects of each one and the ways in which each culture is reflected through, and built around them. The flags, national anthems, and several national icons such as France's Marianne and Uncle Sam are discussed. This analysis deals with the historical contexts and cultural meanings of the symbols, showing the changes each has undertaken in form and in national and international importance. Through the study of national symbols, this thesis reveals the similarities along with the differences between the two nations, which are often perceived as being highly dissimilar and even opposing in belief systems, cultures, and histories.

One of the most important French grammar rules is the rule of superiority: Masculine subjects always trump feminine subjects when there are multiple subjects. Superiority is closely followed by the acceptance that all nouns have a grammatical gender, either masculine or feminine. Since 1984, and over the span of forty years, these rules have been challenged on multiple levels of French society. The research conducted over the course of this thesis focuses on the mentality and reactions of the French people towards inclusive language made up of inclusive writing campaigns, the feminization of traditionally masculine names, career positions, and titles, and the introduction of gender-neutral forms of conjugating and neo-pronouns. The studied responses are be categorized into those of the French government, the Académie Française, as well as those from the Canadian government and the Office québécois de la langue française. Research demonstrates the existence of a clear division between "traditionalist" and progressive values at work within the afore-mentioned levels of French societal attitudes. While official government publications and committees seem to reflect a positive attitude towards the adoption of feminized terms, the lack of support for inclusive writing systems by the government contradicts this. This thesis outlines these responses …

Over the past 25 years, research on the effectiveness of new technologies in teaching has been constantly evolving as teachers try to keep up with educational trends. With the current evolution of technology, it is important to find out how students feel about the use of technologies in both the classroom setting and the non-traditional learning environment. The objective of this project is to determine which applications the students of French 1010 (first semester of college-level French) at the University of North Texas use for language learning to supplement and reinforce the concepts learned in class. Two questions guided this project: (1) what are the new technologies that students in French 1010 use? and (2) if UNT were to implement hybrid classes, would students be interested in taking them? In order to answer these questions, a survey was distributed to 184 students of French 1010 at UNT during the fall 2019 semester. From these surveys, 100 were selected for analysis in the present study, and three students were interviewed as a way to collect additional data. The results of the survey showed that Duolingo was the most used application for language learning purposes, while the interviews showed that the students …

The purpose of this study is to ascertain the major aspects of the theoretical structure of Sartrian existentialism and to examine the portrayal of these in Sartre's fiction. The theoretical investigation is based largely on Sartre's "L'Être et le néant" and "L'Existentialisme est u humanisme." The fictional works are "La Nausée," the trilogy "Les Chemins de la liberté," and "Le Mur." The study is prefaced by an examination of the term existentialism and a brief historical comparison of essentialist and existentialist philosophy. The aspects of Sartrian existentialism discussed are: the question of the existence of God and its importance to Sartre's philosophy; the premise of existence preceding essence; the fact of contingency on absurdity and its attendant nausea; the doctrines of freedom and responsibility; the dilemma of choice, anguish, and commitment; and the themes of authenticity, transcendence, and death.

This study shows similarities in the attitudes of and literary influences upon Maurice Maeterlinck and Nathaniel Hawthorne, especially in Maeterlinck's drama Pelleas et Melisande and Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter. Circumstantial evidence indicates Maeterlinck's familiarity with Hawthorne's novel. Since no previous comparative study of Pelleas et Melisande and The Scarlet Letter exists, the works themselves are the major sources of information.

This study of the variable use of ne in synchronous electronic French discourse follows the methodological guidelines and the theoretical framework proposed and subsequently elaborated by Labov for analyzing variable features of language. This thesis provides a quantitative variable rule (i.e., VARBRUL) analysis including age as a factor group (i.e., independent variable), thereby making a new contribution to this area of inquiry. The data (50,000 words from the vingtaine 'twentysomething' channel and 50,000 words from the cinquantaine 'fiftysomething' channel) are a subset of 100,000 words from a corpus of one million words collected in 2008 by the thesis director from the public chat server EuropNet. This study aims to answer the following overarching question: To what extent does age-compared to other factors-influence the variable use of ne in verbal negation in synchronous electronic French discourse? In order to answer this question, and possibly others, the VARBRUL analysis will include age, subject (e.g., noun vs. pronoun), type of second negative particle (e.g., pas 'not', jamais 'never', personne 'no one'/'nobody', and so forth), as well as verbal mood/tense.

This study partially replicates and re-explores specific dimensions of a textbook analysis of the presentation and use of specific grammatical elements and sociolinguistic variants in textbooks published in the United States for learners of French. Authenticity is situated as a central construct in the analysis of interrogatives, relative pronouns, and the negative particle ne in selected textbooks and ancillary materials. The findings reveal that little progress has been made over the past twenty years in integrating authentic representations of discourse into French-as-a-foreign-language textbooks.

This thesis contains four chapters. The first chapter gives an overview of the current situation concerning same-sex parent families in France. This involves discussions of the PACS (Pacte civil de solidarité), adoption, and marriage, as well as the societal influences that caused the massive negative response to the Taubira law. The second chapter goes into more detail concerning portrayals of homosexuality in French media throughout the years. There is a focus, however, on one of the earliest portrayals of lesbianism in French literature: The Nun by Diderot. Lastly, the third chapter involves further explanation of the history of homosexuality and same-sex parent families. This chapter explores these ideas specifically in the context of French history, as well as how conditions for same-sex parent families have changed in recent years. The fourth and final chapter presents conclusions of the research.

The Quebec of the Quiet Revolution invites a fascinating sociocultural study, and this analysis provides an overview of major changes there during the 1960s and 1970s. The author analyzes how artistic, literary, and musical contributions of the era reflected the public's sentiments toward this metamorphosis. References to political cartoons, plays, poetry, songs, and non-fiction works such as essays and manifestos illustrate attitudes toward the shifting role of the Catholic Church, the arrival of a Liberal government following an ultra-conservative administration, the feminist movement, economic and education reform, and the transformation of Quebec's identity through fierce debates over the status of French and English in the province. Policies enacted by Quebec Prime Ministers, especially Maurice Duplessis, Jean Lesage, and René Lévesque were pivotal to the emerging society. Events such as Vatican II, the publication of the Encyclical letter Humanae Vitae, and the efforts of Catholic Action revealed two concurrent strains of Catholicism present in Quebec and the extent to which the Church had become disconnected from society. This study examines major feminist aims within the historical and literary context and considers how collective efforts were critical to advancing their agenda. Ambitious economic measures enabled Quebec's francophone population to catch up to …

This thesis is intended to give a panorama of technology in foreign language pedagogy. Although my field of study is French, the computer applications under scrutiny do not relate solely to the teaching of French. This paper begins with a criticism of the rigid listen-and-repeat language laboratory concept while tracking the rise of communicative language learning theory; follows the microprocessor revolution in language consoles; documents the development of computer-assisted instruction; showcases software evaluations of computer-assisted language learning; explores telecommunications; discusses satellite dishes and other computer peripherals; presents the results of a survey of Texas universities; and concludes with the presentation of the evolving language media center.

Four themes dominate Balzae's Pere Goriot: Paris, ambition, money, superman. Paris is described physically, socially and morally all strata of society are cruel and corrupt. The contrast between poverty and luxury arouses the ambition of young provincial Rastignae. While his ambition is mainly social, most of the characters of the novel have financial ambitions; money is their only valued Vautrin would kill and Goriot's daughters would reduce their father to pauperism for profit. Beth Vautrin and Goriot are presented as supermen, but while the former is a strong-willed ruthless ex-convict, the latter is a monomaniac, utterly blinded by paternal love. The four themes reflect contemporary society as well as Ralzac's own life and character. They recur throughout the Comdie Humalne but are skilfully condensed in Le Pere Goriot.

This study analyzes specific scenes in the novels dealt with in order to determine the type of women characters Mauriac has created. This study covers Mauriac's early, middle, and late periods as a novelist. The heroines are nearly all examined in relation to each other chronologically. The study shows that Mauriac first portrays a religious and simple heroine. The heroines become agnostic, if not atheistic in several of the subsequent novels. Through Therese, they become progressively more psychologically complex. They then become less complicated and, except for the last heroine, are religious. The last heroine is psychologically portrayed but is the least original of the heroines. The examination of Mauriac's women characters seems to show that the author is deeply sympathetic with the majority of them.

The primary purpose of this study is to demonstrate that the most consistent themes in the selected novels are love and happiness. The novels are: Bonjour tristesse, 1954; Un certain sourire, 1956; La chamade, 1965; Les merveilleux nuages, 1961; Un profil perdu, 1974; Aimez-vous Brahms, 1959; Le garde du coeur, 1968; and De guerre lasse, 1985. Sagan challanges her heroines, and her readers, to find happiness. Each of the heroines handles the individual search for love and happiness in her own specific way. Throughout the novels, love represents pain and suffering as Sagan describes the emptiness of life in modern society. Her works show the futility of love in a world preoccupied by superficial things.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine evidences of dramatic technique in Diderot's three major fictional works, "La Reliieuse," "Le Neveu de Rameau," and "Jaccues le fataliste." The management of dialogue, setting, and gesture is of particular concern, along with style and structure and the recurrent theme of the actor. The conclusion reached is that the influence of dramatic technique is everywhere present in the three works under consideration. Diderot enlists the reader's visual and auditory participation by the use of fast-paced dialogue, striking gestures, and dynamic settings. He also borrows certain stylistic and structural devices from the theater and enhances the dramatic impression by presenting many of his main characters as actors playing their own special roles.

This study examines orthographic variation in synchronous computer-mediated French discourse. All nontraditional variations of selected frequently occuring items are quantified in order to provide an etic (i.e., from an external perspective) analysis. The primary variable of interest is age since this study focuses on providing a comparison of chat participants in their twenties versus those in their fifties. The widespread claim is that younger people communicate using more informal and/or nontraditional forms than older people; however, the results of the present study suggest that this is not always the case. The main finding of the present study is that the twentysomethings and the fiftysomethings produce the nontraditional orthography in a similar fashion in 52.2% of the terms, and in a non-similar fashion in 47.8% of the terms. Following the presentation and discussion of the results, directions for future research are provided.

This thesis examines the current system of education in Quebec. Quebec spends as much money on education as Ontario but is not seeing the same results. In this analysis the reasons for Ontario's success and the challenges that Quebec is facing are outlined along with suggestions for reform in order to improve outcomes in Quebec.

The problem dealt with in this discussion is the various aspects of the theme of purity in Le Voyageur sans bagage, Antigone, L'Alouette and Becket ou l'Honneur de Dieu, by the French playwright, Jean Anouilh. The purpose of this discussion is to clarify Anouilh's concept of the search for purity and to shed light upon the various interpretations of the theme of purity in these four plays.