Germanic and Slavic Studies
This is the collection for the University of Waterloo's Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies .
Research outputs are organized by type (eg. Master Thesis, Article, Conference Paper).
Waterloo faculty, students, and staff can contact us or visit the UWSpace guide to learn more about depositing their research.
Recent deposits
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Pedagogical Approaches for Encouraging Interaction Awareness and Interactional Competence in University-Level Second Language Learners
(University of Waterloo, 2024-05-22)With my dissertation, I show how learning about interactional patterns and organizational features of spoken language can be achieved for undergraduate second and foreign language (L2) learners, supported by empirical data ... -
Transtextual Narratives about the European Union. A qualitative research on structuring, sense-making constructions of reality from a linguistic perspective
(University of Waterloo, 2024-03-28)Narratives are never finished products, but constantly evolving linguistic constructs. Actors use them to position themselves and develop the narratives further in the process. In this respect, narratives are to be understood ... -
German Heritage Language Attitudes in Ontario: A Case Study about the German Language in German-Canadian Families
(University of Waterloo, 2024-03-19)This thesis aims at investigating language attitudes expressed by members of German-Canadian families (n=12) in semi-structured interviews. The analysis draws on methods from the field of Interactional Linguistics and ... -
Evaluation of Computer Aided Translation (CAT) Tools in the Translation Process: A Plea for Complementing CAT-Tools with Corpus Linguistical Tools and Methods
(University of Waterloo, 2024-02-01)The demand for translations of high quality is on a peak while the budget and time resources are low. Consequently, translators need technological support and use Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) tools. Using the ... -
German Accent Bias – The negative Connotation of the German Accent in English among German Speakers.
(University of Waterloo, 2024-01-26)In a globalized world, multilingualism is prevalent, with English as one of its major lingua franca. However, a German accent in English is often perceived as a lack of linguistic competence. An accent is seen as an indicator ... -
Analysis of the (Co-)Construction of Cultural Belongings in Several Episodes of a Korean-American Podcast
(University of Waterloo, 2024-01-26)Since the beginning of the 21st century, the “transnational turn” (Pence & Zimmermann, 2012, p. 495) in social, literary, and linguistic studies can be observed as a response to new forms of mobility and global interconnectedness, ... -
„Phantom, du bist nicht meinesgleichen!“ Identity in the works of Annette von Droste-Hülshoff
(University of Waterloo, 2023-09-08)This thesis examines the role of identity in the works of German author Annette von Droste-Hülshoff. The analysis of this theme investigates the extent to which the author's mode of execution, composed of depicting conflicts ... -
The Linguistic Landscape of Leipzig Today: A Place to Mix Sports and Politics
(University of Waterloo, 2023-08-31)When looking at a space and the people within we often turn to polls, surveys, and elections to gauge the feeling of an area, but what happens when those are not enough or people choose to censor themselves in fear of ... -
Artistic and Social Tensions in the Pages of Ver Sacrum
(University of Waterloo, 2023-08-30)Vienna has for a long time fascinated scholars of history, art, politics and culture. A unique cultural hub at the turn of the twentieth century, Vienna was a modern city and home to many well-known artistic masters. In ... -
Germanisms in the Upper Silesian ethnolect in Poland: Commodification and Revitalization Germanismen im oberschlesischen Ethnolekt in Polen: Kommodifizierung und Revitalisierung
(University of Waterloo, 2023-06-30)In this thesis, I examine how commodification of the Upper Silesian ethnolect may contribute to the revitalization of the ethnolect. This project focuses specifically on the Germanisms, which are German loanwords in the ... -
COMPLAINTS ABOUT COVID: An Examination of the Structure and Properties of Complaints about COVID-19 Using Conversation Analysis
(University of Waterloo, 2023-04-28)In making a complaint, speakers attach a negative assessment to a person, an entity, or an event. Verbalizing such an assessment in interaction transforms a previously individual perception into one that they consider ... -
Native speaker constructions in multilingual families
(University of Waterloo, 2023-01-09)This thesis addresses the well-established subject area of native speaker research. Previous research into the native speaker has addressed the history of the concept of the native speaker, criticisms of this concept, and ... -
Topography and Nature Symbolism in Thomas Mann’s ‘Zauberberg’
(University of Waterloo, 2022-08-31)In my master's thesis I examine the meaning of topography and nature symbolism in Thomas Mann's novel "The Magic Mountain". I select text passages and chapters that exemplify the importance of mountains, height and snow ... -
Culture-in-interaction: Using idiomatic-sounding membership categorizations in German interactions
(University of Waterloo, 2022-08-29)Understanding (Verstehen) and establishing common understanding (Verständigung) are foundational to human communication. Interactants not only work to understand their conversational partners, but they also act to ensure ... -
L2 discourse markers and the development of interactional competence during study abroad
(University of Waterloo, 2022-01-25)In my dissertation, I use the theories and methodologies of Conversation Analysis (or “CA”, see Sacks et al., 1974) to investigate how speakers of a second language (or 'L2') develop the ability to interact in the L2 — or ... -
Lost in Translation: How the perception of Characters change in the German Translations of J.R.R. Tolkiens "The Lord of the Rings"
(University of Waterloo, 2022-01-20)It is an accepted paradigm that translated texts will never be the perfect equivalent to the original text in a different language. It is a fact that foreign literary works will influence a culture through translations. ... -
"Ich glaube, ich bin viele Dinge" – Gender, Sexuality and Nationality in Angelina Maccarone‘s UNVEILED and Faraz Shariat‘s NO HARD FEELINGS
(University of Waterloo, 2022-01-18)This thesis examines the connection of the identity aspects gender, sexuality, and nationality in Angelina Maccarone’s Unveiled (2005) and Faraz Shariat’s No Hard Feelings (2020). Both films feature queer protagonists who ... -
“… als hätte man gerade begonnen zu existieren”: Identity Between Experiences of the Unfamiliar and the Question of Origin in Lutz Seiler’s Novel Stern 111 (2020)
(University of Waterloo, 2022-01-14)To this day, scholars and writers are concerned with the events of the Wende period and the representation of the DDR in Germany’s cultural memory. This period and its consequences are still relevant today and therefore ... -
The Conceptions of Love and Marriage in German Idealism and Romanticism
(University of Waterloo, 2021-09-20)In his Elements of the Philosophy of Right, G. W. F. Hegel considers ethical love the basis of marriage and family, which comprises the state and higher ethical entities. For Hegel, marriage should be seen as an immediately ... -
Ecological modernisation? An ecolinguistic analysis of German, Canadian and European techno-fix approaches to climate change.
(University of Waterloo, 2021-08-26)Analyzing how climate change is situated in ‘discourse,’ the socially constituted and constitutive use of language, can tell a great deal about how the human subject sees itself in relation to nature and what problematic ...