Stephen Fry ~ Planet Word Origins Of Language

• 2 years old is the key stage children start speaking
• 'Mummy' and 'Daddy' are the first words everywhere
• Chimps have learned signed language and to talk through pushing buttons but they do not create conversation like humans
• Humans needed language to collaborate e.g. hunting to feed a tribe 
• Fox-P-2 ~ part of DNA ~ IF there is a problem with the gene it could cause a problem with our speech
• We know more about the universe than about how our language began and works
• There's a window for language development which closes around early puberty
• Dr Deb Roy ~ Cameras in house filming his son growing up learning language 'Speech home project' 
• At 2 years old you'll learn 10 new words per day 
• Steven Pinker ~ children say things they've never heard so must be born with it
• Jean Berko Gleason ~ developed the 'wug test' 1955 ~ Parents need to provide context, opportunities to speak
• Deb Roy tracked the pronunciation of noun 'water' for 7 months e.g. the childs semantic awareness outstrips their phonological ability - highlighted by Dr Deb Roy   

Style Model ~ Newspaper Article

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/the-sun-backs-brexit-trevor-kavanagh_uk_575f9f40e4b07701cbdbb1dc?edition=uk&utm_hp_ref=uk-news

Style model: investigative journalism

Form: This is an online newspaper article expressing The Sun’s view on the EU referendum and their opinion on it too. It also has others opinions from online platforms such as twitter.

Purpose: To inform people about how the front page of one newspaper could affect how some people vote in the EU referendum.

Audience: This article would be aimed towards people 18 and over mainly as they are the people who are going to vote, yet it will affect the younger generation more so they may read this too. “A the YouGov poll for The Times shows Leave on 46% compared with 39% for Remain.”

• o   The text itself is formal with phrases such as “reported to be aggressively anti-EU.”
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• o   Sub heading is simple yet effective with only has 12 lexis which means the point of the article gets across quickly: "The Sun has backed the winning side in every poll since 1974.” 
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• o   Many Subject specific lexis which would only make sense in this context “ EU referendum” and “Brexit”- which is also a blended lexis of ‘Britain’ and ‘Exit’, shown in the media a lot so younger audience would relate more.
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• o   Written in third person with first person quotes “When I go into Downing street”
• o   Low frequency lexis such as  “corporate establishment”  supports the idea that it is formal
• o   Has aspects of different types of mode with Tweets used to show people’s opinions.
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• o   Statistics are used to suggest the article is reliable “46% compared with 39% for Remain.”
• o   Paragraphs only 1 syntax long, maybe to keep hold of reader’s attention “The Sun sells close to two million copies a day and has long been critical of the EU.”
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• o   There is repletion of this quote "‘When I go into Downing Street they do what I say; when I go to Brussels they take no notice’” to show exactly how Murdoch stands.
• o   Range of syntax structures mostly simple to keep the information straight and to the point. Complex sentences are not used at all.
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• o   “The Sun sells close to two million copies a day and has long been critical of the EU.” Declarative syntax, simple syntax sticks to the facts with no other information needed to get the point across.
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• o   “political” low frequency and subject specific lexis, supports the idea it is a formal piece of text
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• o   Images are used to leave less to the imagination and keep to the facts of the article e.g. image of Murdoch and Front page of The Sun 

Opinion Style Models

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/apr/24/boris-johnson-eu-referendum-barack-obama-slur
This article expresses the opinion that all politicians should use correct English to not be seen as a 'joke' and to explain what they are saying clearly. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/06/opinion/sunday/like-degrading-the-language-no-way.html
This opinion article shows how the language is becoming less meaningful with words such as "like constantly being used by people under a certain age."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationopinion/9966117/Text-speak-language-evolution-or-just-laziness.html
This article shows the opinion that children as young as 8 are now using 'text talk' and how they may just be being lazy instead of writing full words/sentences. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/25/opinion/brexit-is-no-business-of-us.html?ref=opinion
This article explains how the decision to whether Britain leaves the EU or not "has nothing to do with the USA" and they should not get involved with the debate. 

"Are grammar Nazis' ruining the English language"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10692897/Are-grammar-Nazis-ruining-the-English-language.html

Example Answer

Question 1:

Analyse how Text A uses language to create meanings and representations.

Text A is a Mumsnet forum, the form of this is an online forum. The purpose of this text is for mums, which is shown in the title, to discuss/debate about proms. The audience is mums of school leaver children which is reflected in the topic of Proms and possibly higher middle class due to the talk of money and costs throughout “£30 back in the day.”

The text uses many field specific lexis which would only be used in the topic of Proms such as: “prom”, “dress”, “tiara makers”, “leavers” and “limos.” The acronym, written by Muckycarpets, “OTT” suggests that the writer has teenage children as this is usually used by people of that age, socialite language.  The metaphor “it is not a fight club” is used at the beginning of the text in the ‘note’ section this used to show that although discussion should be made, arguments should not. The alliteration “competitive consumerism” is used in a negative manner; this is implied with both of the words beginning with a ‘C’ which creates a harsh sound. 

Text A has many interrogative syntax such as “What’s a prom?” this suggests that this is a discussion text as theses interrogatives are answered. This is an example of spontaneous speech and conversational discourse as the two writers Muckycarpets and Wollyideas. The text is also opened by an interrogative “Am I being reasonable?” which implies right at the beginning that this is a discussion. This text has short, simple syntax which could suggest that the writers are trying to get their opinion across quickly and do not want to give a lot of information about their statement, maybe suggesting that they are in a rush while typing this or are in a hurry for an answer. 

Some syntax do not begin with capital letters and most do not have punctuation at the end “ my sisters school has just started doing them” which could link to the idea that this is an online forum where everyone tends to be mess formal and is much more relaxed. Adjacency pairs are used through this text which suggests a conversation is being created between the writers/ contributors. This links to the purpose of the text which is to create discussion/debate between the members.

The text creates a sense of identity for each contributor with nicknames “Wollyideas” and regional dialect such as “naff”. This makes the text more relatable to other people and encourages participation within the forum. 

Emojis are used  often which suggests that this is a modern text online as they have only become common in the past 5 years, but they are also used pragmatically to portray how people feel instead of actually using words. The acronym “OTT” is capitalised which usually suggests that it is being used in a hyperbolic manner and also written as though when spoken it would be shouted. This relates to the idea that it is written in an informal manner. 

 

 

 

 

Question 2:

Analyse how Text B uses language to create meanings and representations.

Text B is an online article from the Mirror. The purpose of this text is to show and inform how boys are now spending as much money on proms as girls are. The audience of this text is less gender specific however, it could be said that it would be for parents of children who are going to prom, school leavers, as it would relate to them more. 

The double adverb ‘as’ in the title of this text emphasises the growth of boys interested in prom, maybe suggesting that the writer of this article is in shock. Throughout field specific lexis is used: “tuxedos” “cufflinks, cummerbunds and silk hankies” which suggests the writer has been informed about the topic. The verbs “rocketing” and “snowballed” suggest the movement of boy’s interest in proms is very fast and growing continuously, not stopping. This could imply that boy’s interest in prom will eventually exceed girl’s interest. The noun “lads” could be used to interest a younger reading audience as this term is usually used by the younger generation. 

The declarative syntax next to the title “Advice you can count on”, which is one of the first things the reader sees, implies that this is a trustworthy, reliable text. There is also complex and compound syntax in this text such as “Image conscious teen lads are ditching the trainers and t-shirts for a slick, groomed look spending 24% more on their outfits than they did a year ago.” This implies that the tone and register of this text is formal due to the amount of information given and how it is laid out. However, some paragraphs do begin with “And” which is grammatically incorrect, on the other hand it does show a clear continuation from the previous paragraph. 

The text also includes an image at the beginning of the text, this leaves less to the imagination of the reader and allows them to discover what the text is about before reading it.  The image is also almost a referenced in the text “Screen hero James Bond” so it allows readers, who may not know who he is, to see what he looks like and not just imagine it. 

The text also uses quotes from ‘Ed Watson’ which shows it is reliable as he is a spokesperson from Debenhams which is a trustworthy British store. Statistics are also used such as “24% more” this once again relates to the idea of it being trustworthy. The text has many articles towards the side of the article which are suggesting more serious issues such as “Ofgem’s investigation” this shows that it is more formal and factual text. 

Personal pronouns are used such as “you”. This allows a relationship to be built up between the reader and writer which mean the reader will be more interested and invested in the article compared to if they were not used. 

 

 

 

 

 

Question 3:

Compare and contrast Text A and Text B, showing ways in which they are similar and different in

their language use.

Text A and text B are both written about the same topic, ‘proms’, however they both do have different views on the event. Text B is more informative and factual with many declaratives used “they are tidying up their monobrows and facial hair” which suggests it is trustworthy. On the other hand, text A uses many interrogatives, “am I being reasonable?” This suggests it is largely opinion based and adjacency pairs are used. 

Both of their main purpose is to inform about the idea of prom and they both do focus on the money aspect of the event at certain points. Text B states “spending an average of £385 on the school prom” and text A states “I got my school prom dress from TKMAXX for £30 back in the day.” Although these are both discussing financial topics it could be suggested that text A is aimed  towards more upper-middle class people due to the amount spoken about money and text B lower-middle class.

Text A and text B both suggest that the writer is shocked at points in the text. Text A uses exclamative “the helicopter is way OTT!” which emphasises the shock and the double adverb “as” at the beginning of text B could be used to show the writer is shocked at the interest of boys in proms. 

Text A is seen as more personable with the text using nicknames and regional dialect such as “naff.” But text B does use personal pronouns throughput which allows a relationship to be built between the reader and writer such as “you.”

Both text use field specific lexis which links to the topic of proms. Text B uses “cufflinks, cummerbunds and silk hankies” and text A uses “tiara makers” and “limo.” Although these are all field specific lexis, it is easy to tell that text B focus more on the male aspect of prom and text A focuses on the girls aspect of prom, this could suggest that text A has a female based audience and text B has a more male based audience. 

Text B uses an image at the beginning of the text which suggests what the article is going to be about, whereas text A does not. This could be due to text A using interrogatives which allows their questions to be answered whereas questions cannot be asked on text B and all the information, which is needed to understand the topic, must be given at one point and not by different people.

'Why is travelling alone still considered a risky persuit for women?'

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/womens-blog/2016/mar/21/travelling-alone-risky-women-sexist-attitudes

This article highlights the fact that it is still considered dangerous for women to go travelling on their own or with a small group of them and why it is acceptable to for men to travel on their own.  

'New exclamation mark rules – proof that The Man wants to penalise enthusiasm!'

http://www.theguardian.com/education/shortcuts/2016/mar/07/new-exclamation-mark-rules-proof-the-government-wants-to-penalise-enthusiasm

This is a link to a Guardian article about exclamation marks and how they are being over used and therefore not seen as showing as much enthusiasm.