English Language

English Language

Concepts and Contexts
1. Context= what, where, who, when, why?
2. Concepts:
  1. technology
  2. dialect
  3. sociolect
  4. Idiolect
  5. power
  6. gender
  7. age
  8. occupation
  9. standard/non- standard
Language Frameworks
1. Grammar
  1. system of rules on how words and sentences are constructed
2. Register and Mode
  1. the level of formality in a discourse
3. Pragmatics
  1. sometimes called language in use looks at social conventions, context, personality and relationships influence on the choices people make about language
4. Phonology
  1. the study of sounds in english
  2. how their pronounced and how their combined to make words
5. Semantics
  1. study of meaning created through words and phrases
6. Subject
  1. what the discourse is about, lexical choices
Varieties of English
1. Accent and Dialect
  1. English words can be pronounced in different ways
    1. the differnet patterns of pronounciation are accents
      1. can be affected by a speakers regional or social background
        accents refer to how you say words, not the words themselves
  2. dialect= variations in language, has its own distinctive features
    1. refers to specific words not just how you say them
    2. to describe language from a specific geographical region
2. Slang
  1. informal vocab and non-standard words
  2. different purposes
  3. often inventive and creative
    1. two main purposes are to be rebellious or entertaining
3. Standard English and RP (Recieved Pronounciation)
4. Sociolect and Idiolect
  1. sociolect=language of social groups
  2. idiolect= the word choices people make
    1. how they form sentences
      1. unique to an individual like a fingerprint
        a unique combination of influences
Language in Social Contexts
1. Language and the Media
  1. media can be biased
    1. newspaper reports often show bias through the writers word choice
  2. can show prejudice towards social groups
    1. children's media lang
      1. = distinctive
        this is through:
        lexis, grammar and punctuation
        Lexis= small, repeated, simple, informal
        grammar= address audience (third person)
        punctuation= simple punctuation, upbeat
        ... uses exclamation marks
        ... includes and engages audience
  3. Taboloid newspapers have clear viewpoints, use straightforward language
  4. Broadsheets aimed at professional, mainly middle class readers
2. Language and Power
  1. Political language, legal language, education, business
  2. political: repetition, first person, rhetorical questions
    1. legal: has its own lexis called jargon, syntax=complex
      1. education: teachers use imperatives, students use indirect questions
        business: power structure similar to education in schools
        hierarchical structure- subordinate, superior, team leader, chief executive
3. Language and Technology
  1. mobile phones= massive impact on langauge ( e.g- shorthand) acronyms (LOL), numbers for words (2- to) imcomplete clauses (home safe. speak soon) phonetic spelling (coz- because)
  2. the internet has affected language too
    1. dependant on context- one business letter to another may be formal and use standard english whereas friends on a chatroom may use text speech and informal english
  3. new technology has created new words and meanings (e.g- affixation, compounding, clipping, blending and conversion)
    1. compounding- combining separate words
      1. blending- parts of two words combined
        conversion- a existing word changes its grammatical function
      2. clipping- shortened word becomes its own word
4. Language and Occupational groups
  1. different occupations have their own sociolect
    1. occupational language varies depending on form and function
      1. informative discourse
        persuasive discourse
        instructional discourse
        transactional discourse
5. Language and Gender
  1. ON THEORISTS MINDMAP
6. Adverts
  1. designed to persuade
  2. when reviewing adverts look at: subject matter, purpose, form, target audience and the hook
    1. subject matter= adverts will focus on a product, service or cause
      1. purpose= designed to persuade to buy a product or service, support a charity or join a campaign
        form= comes in various different forms (e.g- newspapers and magazines, leaflets)
        target audience= could be broad (e.g- food shoppers, drivers) or specific (boys who like skateboarding)
        hook= the device advertisers use to get the audience's attention- it could be visual, verbal or musical
Spoken Language
1. Spoken Language
  1. two main purposes: 1. to convey meaning (explain something, give orders, instructions) 2. to demonstrate attitudes and values
  2. content depends on context
    1. functions in different ways: Interactional, Referential, Expressive, Transactional, Phatic
      1. Interactional= to develop relationships between speakers, it is informal speech has a social function
        Referential= provides information, used to refer to objects, the speaker assumes knowledge from the listener
        Expressive= highlights emotions and attitudes
        Transactional= getting information or making a deal, driven by needs and wants
        Phatic= used for social purposes, innitiating a conversation, small talk
2. Speech Features
  1. can be prepared or spontaneous
    1. prepared= done in advance, specific demographic, formal, preformed/delivered, maintain interest of listeners
      1. spontaneous = on the spot, informal, shared with those known by speaker, in response to another speaker
3. Conversation and Turn-taking
  1. openings, reponses, adjacency pairs, signalling closure= happen in all conversations
  2. some features depend on individual speakers
    1. switching and turn taking, tag questions, tppic shifts, feedback
Written Language
1. Ideology and Representation
  1. values and morals evident in texts
  2. texts can show prejudice and bias
  3. a writer may also show their attitudes and explicictly- e.g journalists
  4. may draw on personal experience
  5. Influenced by environment, evident in their characters, narrator the themes and issues
  6. language choice can influence reader- texts are often manipulated to create certain emotions or reactions in the reader
2. Purpose
  1. what the writer is trying to achieve
    1. persuade,instruct,inform,entertain
      1. persuade= first person, emotive adjectives, evidence
        instruct= chonological/ numbered sections, bullets, headings,imperitives, second person
        inform= clear structure, simple language, specialist terms, third person, serious tone-opinion/comments
        entertain= sophisticated language, extensive vocab, figurative lang,complex structure, varied sentence types
3. Audience
  1. listener or reader
    1. how they're addressed- formal/ informal, direct/indirect
      1. known audience= the writer uses personal pronouns, emotive language, prime demographic they target writing at
        unknown=doesn't acknowledge reader directly writes in 3rd person, no personal emotions evident, fairly formal text
  2. To figure out the intended audience of a text look at the style, content, lexis, tone and formality
    1. style ( formal= older audience, informal= younger)
      1. content ( general topic= broad audience, specific= smaller audience)
        lexis ( complex, specialist, technical)
        tone ( serious tone= mature, interested audience)
        formality ( reports, articles= formal, emails=informal and friendly, know the person or group
4. Genre
  1. the kind of language it is
    1. e.g- instruction booklet, advert, casual conversation between friends
      1. written text formats
        letters
        postcards
        text messages
        recepies
      2. Spoken text formats
        answer phone message
        interview
        lesson
        radio show
5. Literary Texts
  1. part of the entertainment field aim to:
    1. entertain or amuse
    2. affect readers emotions
    3. describe the atmosphere
    4. examine the personality of a character
    5. influence how the reader looks at the world
  2. 3 main types of literary texts:
    1. prose- novels, stories, bio's
    2. poetry- vary in content, structure, style and intention
    3. plays- consist of dialogue between characters or monologue talking directly to the audience

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	Created by krissiebelle001 over 10 years ago