A Level
English
Language
revision
notes
[AS level only]
Bethany Cunningham
This is for AS level English Language notes and this is followed from the specification and revision from college. There
are also summary sections released separately.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN QUESTION 1 AND 2?
Question 2
Question 1
• 6 texts
• 1 question
• AO1, AO2 and AO3
have an equal
weighting
• Choice of three
questions
• Language and social
contexts
• Choice of three texts
• Focuses on one topic
• 'How context affects
language use?'
KEY WORDS
Key word
Definition
Morpheme
Substitution
Lexical fields
Unit of meaning.
Replacing lexical items.
Cohesive patterns of lexis; they are formed by a relation
in subject. E.g. ’hot’ and ‘temperature’ are parts of the
lexical field of weather.
These are similar in meaning, for example ‘warm’ and
‘boiling hot’ are both similar meaning an increase in
temperature. However, they don’t portray the same effect.
Lexis that has more than one meaning, e.g. ‘hide’. These
both means the sheep skin and are a section of the
children’s game: hide and seek.
The medium of communication whether it is written or
spoken.
Synonyms
Polysemes
Modality
Genre
FRAMEWORKS
The four purposes are to inform, to instruct, and to persuade. Many kinds of writing and speech do not fit into this
simple categorisation.
There are many ways to classify language use; one is to define whether the text is written or spoken (mode). Some
kinds of language, however, embody characteristic of both like chat rooms or texting. You can’t even assume that
texts are either formal or informal as there is a whole spectrum of formality including taboo at one end. There is also
slang which is not regarded as ‘proper’ English. This is suggested as the register of the text.
This may refer to the lexis which relate to a specific topic, area or subject. There are different language varieties
across the country and we distinguish between the pronunciations that are part of regional speech by calling it an
accent.
It is also possible to consider texts as examples of distinctive kinds of language use which have recognisable features
or conventions (genre) and it is important to bear in mind the readers or listeners for whom the text is producedaudience.
We need to categorise language precisely with the help of frameworks. We can consider how a text is organised and
constructed: how it begins and ends, and what happens in the middle-discourse. For written language, there is the
physical presentation of the text on the page, or graphology. The study of grammar, the way that sentences are
constructed and how words are organised is covered by syntax.
‘I write’ and ‘she writes’ are examples of first or third person. We can classify sentence depending on their function,
some sentences ask questions (interrogatives), and others give commands (imperatives), other simply present
statements (declarative), while some outbursts or comments (exclamatives). Some sentences are not really sentences
by the definition as they may consist of one or two words-minor sentences.
We classify parts of speech into word classes, words like pen, grass, disagreement and David Beckham are all nouns.
We can subdivide this class; pen and grass are objects of the real world, so they are known as concrete nouns. David
Beckham is the name given to a well-known person, so it is a proper noun. Whereas, disagreement is an idea or
feeling-in other words an abstract noun. Then they are ‘describing words’ known as adjectives. Traditionally, the
definition of a ‘verb’ is a ‘doing’ word. However, this is misleading; the most common one is ‘is’ or ‘be’, followed by
‘have’ and many of these describe states or feelings rather than actions. Extra information about these words is known
as an adverb, which will tell us something about how, where or when this is going on. There are other word classes,
such as I, you, he and she known as pronouns. Words such as with, and, but because and so are connectives Also
words like on, under, behind and after are types of prepositions.
Breaking language down even further can lead us to think about the sounds of English-the study of phonology.
English is made of 44 basic vowel and consonant sounds called phonemes. However, when we talk we usually don’t
depend on these, as our gestures, eye contact and body language (paralinguistic features) and our intonation, speed
of speaking and the way we stress words (prosodic features). This is why speech seems to be less meaningful if you
are not present, in other words it is context-bound.
We can also look at how words convey meanings. The study of this aspect of language is called semantics. The
meanings of words are complex; two words in a similar lexical field may appear to have similar meanings or be
synonyms. The chances are that they have different meanings or ideas associated –in other words they have different
connotations. There is a difference between language in what we say literally, and language that works like a
metaphor, in other words figurative language. We sometimes don’t say what we mean; we might sometimes say we
are going to powder our nose when in fact we intend something different, this is known as a euphemism. At other
times, we might create humour by being more blunt than being polite, which is a dysphemism. In many texts, the
meaning may not be immediately obvious and have a hidden meaning or intention, known as pragmatics.
LEXIS AND SEMANTICS
(What sorts of words are used?)
Lexis can be broken down into morphemes-these are the unit of meaning. There are four different types of
morphemes: free, dependent, creative and grammatical.
Free/independentthese morphemes can stand on their own.
Dependent/boundthese can be attached to other morphemes.
Grammaticalthese give grammatical information-e.g. plurals.
Creativethese form new words.
EXAMINER’S TIP
It is important to note that all words are dependent on context for their full meaning to be understood.
INTRODUCTION TO LEXIS
Lexis can be broken down into morphemes-these are the unit of meaning.
There are four different types of morphemes: free, dependent, bound and grammatical.
Free/independentthese morphemes can stand on their own.
Dependent/boundthese can be attached to other morphemes.
Grammaticalthese give grammatical information-e.g. plurals
Creativethese form new words
TECHNIQUES TO LOOK OUT FOR: LEXIS AND SEMANTICS
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Substitution-replacing lexical items for a certain effect
Lexical fields –these are cohesive patterns that are formed by clusters of words by meanings
The linking of meanings: synonyms (linked in meaning), polysemes (lexis that have more than one meaning)
and homophones (the same pronunciation but different meanings).
Referencing-anaphoric/cataphoric
Cataphoricthis is where you reference first using a pronoun and then reference to the actual pronoun later in the
text.
Anaphoricthis is where you reference back to something with the use of a pronoun. E.g. ‘he’
When analysing a text, you should ask the following questions:
1. Does it convey fact and opinions?
Is it emotional?
Look out for specific word classes: adverbs, adjectives, verbs and nouns.
2. Is it formal/informal/neutral?
Does it link to a certain theme?
3. Is it personal/impersonal?
Look at the use of pronouns- who does it refer to?
4. Are there any non-standard/regional expressions?
5. Is the text used in a literal/figurative sense?
REGISTERS
REGISTER is how formal you are.
MODE-medium of communication, whether it is written or spoken.
TENOR-this is the relationship between the producer and receiver, this is shown by the use of pronouns, questions
and formality.
FIELD—this is the general purpose of communication, e.g. to inform, to entertain, to persuade etc.
DISCOURSE
(How is it organised?)
DISCOURSE STRUCTURE
This explains how texts are put in together.
Discourse structure
List/instructions
Problem-solution
Analysis
Key features
Logical progression through stages,
use of imperative verbs to instruct,
guide.
Identifies a problem.
Breaks down key ideas.
Evaluates and explores.
Examples
Recipes, instructions and guides.
Product advertisements.
Articles and newspaper editorials.
Narrative
Series of events and this can be
chronological or non-chronological.
Novels and witness accounts.
DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
Discourse framework looks at how texts present information in order to create identities for particular individuals or
institutions and the ideologies that are often included.
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One speaker is narrative.
Multi speakers are conversational.
ANALYSING ORAL NARRATIVES: LABOV’S NARRATIVE CATEGORIES (AO2-THEORISTS)
When a speaker talks for a long period, it is known as narrating. Labov put forward a six part structure for oral
narrative accounts of narrative events.
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Abstract (A), the indication that a narrative is about to start and the speaker wants a listener’s attention.
Orientation (O), the who, what, where and why of the narrative. This sets the scene and provides further
contextual information to the listener.
Complicating action (CA), the main body providing a range of detail.
Resolution (R), the final events in order to give the narrative closure.
Evaluation (EV), additions to the basic story, to highlight attitudes or to command and the listener’s attention
at important moments.
Coda (C), a sign that the narration is complete. This might include a return to the initial time frame before the
narrative.
THE ANALYSIS OF CONVERSATIONS
This usually occurs with an exchange structure between multi speakers.
Adjacency pairs are common in conversations; an example of this is during turn taking with question and answers.
They can become more complex with a triadic structure: initiationresponsefeedback.
TAKING TURNS AND CONTROL
Taking turns are crucial in conversation. Topic managements usually occurs with powerful participants (language and
power-language in social contexts).
COMMON FEATURES OF SPOKEN DISCOURSE
Discourse feature
Back-channelling
Discourse marker
Fillers
Hedging
False starts/repairs
Description
This shows speaker support, non-verbal
utterances to show agreement and
attention.
It signals a shift in conversation and topic
areas. It can also be used as a counterargument.
Non-verbal sounds that act like pauses in
speech, they are quite natural and they
may signal uncertainty.
Avoids directness or to minimise a
potential face-threatening situation.
False starts are when a speaker starts to
talk, pauses and then recommences.
A repair returns to correct a previously
stated phrase or sentence.
Examples
Mmm, yeah, OK
OK, right then, so, but
Err, um
Kind of, sort of, maybe, perhaps and
modal verbs.
It began err Arsenal kicked off the
second half.
Skip connectors
Fixed expressions
Vague expressions
Ellipsis
Tag questions
Deixis
Non-fluency features
A return to a previous topic of
conversation.
A conventional and routine expression in
colloquial communication, sometimes
metaphorical.
Similar to hedging, deliberate noncommittal expressions.
Omission of a word for economical
purposes, informal contexts and to avoid
awkward situations.
This consists of an auxiliary verb,
pronoun and a negative participle.
Pointing words in a perceptual, temporal
or spatial dimension.
Non-verbal occurrences.
Written
• Syntax is altered
• Pragmatic features
• Spontaneous
• Possible stuttering
• Tag questions
• Paralingustic features
• Conserned with the past and the
future
• Fillers
• False start
• Elliptical utterances
• Gestures
• Reptition
• Monologue
• Objective
Anyway, coming back to our original
conversation.
As a matter of fact.
Anything, something
(I’ve)…just seen Jack.
It was tomorrow, wasn’t it?
I, now, here and there,
Pauses, hesitations and repetitions.
Spoken
Content
• Deictic referencing
• Interpersonal
• Dialogue
• Concerned with the present
• Pragmatic features
• Spontaneous
• Possible stuttering
• Tag questions
• Paralingustic features
• Fillers
• False starts
• Elliptical utterances
• Gestures
• Repitition
GRAPHOLOGY
KEY TERMS
Typography: font type, size, colour, emboldening, italicising, underlining and any other modifications to font types.
Cultural Model: An organisational structure based on shared and agreed criteria by groups of people within a society.
Shape of the text - reader uses knowledge to help identify the purpose and meaning of a text.
Images - Iconic or symbolic. Add a meaning?
Iconic Signs - Direct picture of the thing it represents. Provides a basic reference for the reader. Tend to be simple and
straightforward.
Symbolic Signs - Draw on association or connotation. Usually defined by cultural convention, based on existing
cultural models. Provide meaning because society has placed certain values or qualities on them.
Photographs and artwork - Provide associative meaning and work in the same way as logos to produce meanings for
a reader.
Space - amount of detailing. Cluttered?
Empty Spaces - as meaningful as filled ones. An attention-seeking device.
PHONOLOGY
Phonetics and phonology are the frameworks that look at the sound of English. Phonology deals with the study of the
sound system, whereas phonetics deals with the actual sounds of speech. This can be said that this framework is a
way of exploring sound patterns and their effects on speech.
They can be broke up into phonemes (like morphemes) are basic units but in this case they are units of sound.
PHONOLOGICAL PATTERNS
Sound symbolism is the term used to describe how sounds are used to represent actual events and to mirror the
actions they describe. Onomatopoeia also covers the feature of sound patterning. It can occur in lexical forms (lexical
onomatopoeia-crash, bang) and non-lexical forms (non-lexical onomatopoeia, cluster of sounds such as grr).
Other patterns can be achieved by foregrounding sounds; this is often used by the techniques alliteration (sequence of
words beginning with the same sound), assonance (repetition of vowel), sibilance (repetition of the letter s) and
consonance (repetition of consonant sounds).
HUMOUR
Language can be manipulated for a comical effect and this can rely on homophones (word that sounds the same as
another word/s. This can also rely on phonetic substitution and may be used for a specific implied reader.
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Regional accents, this is the pronunciation difference between Received Pronunciation (RP) and other
accents.
Social accents: this depends on gender, occupation and class.
Personal accents: these depend on mood and physical features.
PRAGMATICS
This depends on the context of the situation and the lexis; these can change the meaning.
Look for:
Level of formality: depending on the lexis used is some of it colloquial or Latin based?
Ambiguity: could there be any confusion about the meaning?
Language change: how language has changed over the years? E.g. dishy/fit
Connotation: are there any feelings or associations related to the lexis
Idiomatic language: refers to many words or phrases that are a familiar and everyday feature of our language; e.g.
puns
Field of reference: is there lexis from a similar area?
GRAMMAR AND SYNTAX
This framework is definitely the one that most students find difficult to apply to a text, you do need to understand the
concepts because you need to be able to spot them (AO1) and not only that explain them, why are they needed. This
is also important in question 2 because it is more concise.
An example of this:
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Verb
Modal auxiliary.
Modal auxiliary verb.
(1)
(2)
(3)
WORD CLASSES
Word class
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Determiner
Conjunction
Pronoun
Description/function
Names of objects, feelings, attitudes,
people or places.
Shows actions, events or states of
being, feeling or thinking.
Add detail to nouns
Add details to verbs or adverbs.
Positioned in front of nouns to add
detail or to clarify.
Links words, phrases and clauses
together.
Replaces nouns and can be used in
cataphoric/anaphoric referencing.
Examples
Table, love, anger, Steve or London.
Jumping, to be, love or believe.
The BLUE car.
The car drove SLOWLY.
THE car, A pig or AN apple.
The dog AND the cat, that’s okay
BUT, it’s me OR the dog,
ALTHOUGH it is a problem,
BECAUSE of this misfortunate event
I, me, you, his, our
NOUNS
BACKGROUND TO NOUNS
Every noun is a person, a place or a concrete thing, or intangible thing. A noun can fall into certain categories:
1. A common noun that refers generically to people, place or things and so they are all written in lowercase
typeface.
2. Nouns can be classified into proper and common: count (concrete (can be touched)/ abstract (unobservable
notions) and noun count (concrete/ abstract). REDISCOVER GRAMMAR BY DAVID CRYSTAL
3. A proper noun is much more specific, referring to one and only person, place or thing and written with an initial
capital letter; in some case brands have internal capitals.
4. In compound nouns, they double up to express a whole that has more meaning that its parts. They are
sometimes split using a hyphen and are usually pronounced with the stress on the first syllable.
E.g. award winner, film star
5. They are also single word compounds which now people no longer think these as compounds but one word.
E.g. raincoat
5. Nouns can also be formed with an adjective (e.g. greenhouse); if they are rearranged then they can sometimes
have a completely different meaning.
6. Nouns which are formed with a gerund (something which is used for doing something), e.g. frying pan.
Many nouns are used after the determiner (a, the, this) to form a noun phrase.
Example of a noun phrase
The (determiner) pretty (pre modifier) cottage (head noun) by the sea (post modifier/qualifier). This is the constituent
structure, all parts round the head noun.
Nouns are distinguished from verbs by the stress on the first syllable, this shows this is a noun but if it is stressed on
the second syllable then it is a verb.
Hyphens: these are used when it is a verb and particle combinations, when a compound is accepted as a single
word, the use of hyphens are usually avoided.
Noun
Proper
(Refer to names of people or places).
Abstract
(Refer to states, feelings and concepts that have no
physical existence).
Concrete
(Refers to objects that have a physical existence).
Examples
Frank, London.
Hate, sadness.
Can be countable, e.g. table or not countable, e.g.
furniture.
VERBS
BACKGROUND ON VERBS
Rediscover grammar by David Crystal: Auxiliary verbs are known as helping verbs and there are two types:
primary (have, be, do) and modal (must, should, could) verbs.
Verb process
Material
(Describes actions or processes).
Relational
(Describe states of being or are used to identify).
Mental
(Describes perception, thought or speech).
Dynamic verb processes
(Change in state over time).
Stative
(This is where the situation remains constant).
Examples
Skip, move, and write.
Is, become, disappear.
Speculate, believe, love.
Devour, clean, remove.
Love, believe, hold.
ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS
BACKGROUND ON ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS
Rediscover grammar by David Crystal:
clauses and exclamations.
Adjectives can be used as a complement, before the noun, verb less
Types of adjectives are base (big), comparative (bigger) and superlative (biggest).
PRONOUNS
BACKGROUND ON PRONOUNS:
Rediscover grammar by David Crystal: pronouns can be classified into: personal, reflexive (self/selves),
reciprocal are used to express a two way relationship: each other, relative (e.g. whom) and possessive (expressing
ownership).
Type of pronoun
Person
(This type of pronoun refers to actual people. They may
be8completing actions for example but they may refer to
a particular group).
Possessive
Examples
I, you, she they
My cat, his cat, our cat, their cat.
(This type of pronoun refers to ownership, possess
something).
Reflexive
(This is a personal pronoun compounded with -self to
show the agent's action and this affects the agent).
Demonstrative
(They are used to verbally point out something).
Relative
(A pronoun that introduces an adjective clause).
Myself, himself, themselves.
This, these, that, those.
Who, whom, which.
LEXICAL COHESION
TYPES OF CONNECTIVES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Enumeration-e.g. firstly
Consequence-e.g. as a result of
Comparative- e.g. similarly
Temporal- e.g. afterwards
Summative-e.g. therefore
Addition –e.g. also
PHRASES
A phrase is a group of words which don’t contain a main verb. Phrases don’t have main verbs but they sometimes
have participles: present or past.
Participles cannot function as main verbs on their own. They need auxiliary verbs to help them out.
CLAUSES
All clauses are made up out of elements, each expressing a particular meaning. There are five types of elements:
The first element is known as the subject, this usually identifies the theme or topic of the clause.
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The subject usually appears before the verb in statements, and after the verbs in questions.
The subject controls whether the verb is singular or plural in the third person of the present tense.
The subject also controls the form of certain objects and complements.
Some pronouns have a distinctive form when used as subjects (the subjective form).
What can be classified as a subject?
1. Noun phrases: sometimes nouns are used in series linked by commas in writing and by intonation in speech
or words such as ‘and’.
2. Pronouns
3. Some subordinate clauses
The second element is known as verbs. The verb expresses a wide range of meanings such as actions, sensations or
states of being. Verbs are the most necessary part of the clause and usually the rest can be omitted except in verb
less clauses.
What can be classified as a verb?
1. A verb
2. A verb element
Types of verbs:
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Lexical verbs with a clearly stateable meaning, they act as main verbs.
Modal auxiliary verbs which express the likelihood of events.
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Primary verbs can function as either a main or as an auxiliary verb.
The form of regular verb can be predicted by rules and irregular verbs are predictable.
Regular verbs have a base form, s-form, -ing participle and –ed form.
Verbs are classified into two broad types: finite and non-finite. Finite verbs are shown in a contrast in tense.
The third element is known as the object. They identify who or what has been directly affected by the verb. They are
either direct/indirect.
The fourth element is known as the complement. They give information about another clause element. It follows the
subject and verb.
The fifth element is the adverbial clause and they usually add information about the situation.
SENTENCES
Many advertisements, public notices, newspaper headlines and legal documents lack punctuation. When starting a
sentence with ‘and’ or ‘but’ it is usually to emphasise a contrast in meaning. Spoken sentences have a different
structure as it is spontaneous and there is no plan for grammar such as full stops.
TYPES OF SENTENCES
Sentences can be formed in whether they are formed in a regular or an irregular way. Regular sentences are often
referred to as major; irregular sentences as minor.
Major sentences are the vast majority of sentences and hey can be broken down into a specific pattern of elements.
There are also known as sentence moods:
Simple sentences contain one clause.
Compound sentences consist of two or more clauses joined by coordinating conjunctions.
Complex sentence-contains two or more clauses, where one is the main clause and the other is a subordinate clause.
Compound complex sentence-contains both coordination and subordination.
Coordinating conjunctions include and, but, or.
Subordinating conjunctions include because, although, while.
AGENTS
Sentences can be classified by the active or passive voice.
Voice
Active
Passive
Features
Includes an actor or agent; verb phrase includes a finite present or past tense verb.
Omits an actor or agent or includes the agent as part of a prepositional phrase after the verb.
FURTHER READING
REDISCOVER GRAMMAR WITH DAVID CRYSTAL
KEY POINTS:
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Simple sentence has a clause only. A multiple sentence consists of clause, linking word and the next clause.
Minor sentences can be classified into: formulae (social situations, e.g. hello), interjections (emotional noises),
abbreviated forms and phrases.
Clauses consist of subject, verb (this cannot be omitted), object, complement and adverbial elements.
Statements are said to have a declarative structure.
Questions are said to have an interrogative structure. These consist of yes-no questions, WH-questions, tag
questions, rhetorical questions, exclamatory questions (e.g. wasn’t the book marvellous!) And alternative
questions.
Sentences can be classified into commanding, inviting, warning, pleading, advising, requesting and
expressing good wishes.
Vocatives refer to the person or people who are being addresses.
Auxiliary verbs are known as helping verbs and there are two types: primary (have, be, do) and modal (must,
should, could) verbs.
There are two types of voices: active and passive. The subject and object swap places to become the passive
voice. It also requires primary auxiliary verbs.
Noun phrase structures contain: head, determiner, pre modification and post modification.
Nouns can be classified into proper and common: count (concrete (can be touched)/ abstract (unobservable
notions) and noun count (concrete/ abstract).
Pronouns can be classified into: personal, reflexive (self/selves), reciprocal are used to express a two way
relationship: each other, relative, e.g. whom and possessive (expressing ownership).
Adjectives can be used as a complement, before the noun, verb less clauses and exclamations.
Multiple sentences can be broken down into compounding (using coordination, e.g. and), complex (linked by
subordination.
Punctuation separates units of grammar and indicates specific functions.
LONGMAN ENGLISH GRAMMAR, BY L.G. ALEXANDER
KEY POINTS:
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A finite verb must normally have: a subject which can possibly be omitted.
A phrase is a group of words which can be part of a sentence. These can take the form of a noun phrase, a
prepositional/adverbial phrase, a verb phrase and a question-word and infinitive.
The compound sentence often needs to join ideas and this can be done via a semi colon and/or connecting
adverb, also they can be joined by a coordinating conjunction, e.g. ‘and, but, or’.
Complex sentences can be formed via joining a subordinate clause to the main clause with a conjunction or
by using infinitive or participle constructions.
To classify a complex sentence: they can be derived from statements, the can act as the subject of a verb, as
the object of the verb, after adjectives and derived from questions.
Some words can be classified into either a verb or a noun; these can be distinguished via the stress of the
word or the pronunciation.
There are three different types of articles: the ‘a/an’, ‘the’ and the zero articles.
There are many different types of determiners: indefinite article (e.g. a hat), definitive article (the shirt),
demonstratives (I bought this/that shirt) and possessives (do you like my new shirt?).
 There are also words which help us indicated quantifying: using numbers: I bought two shirts and via
quantifiers: there were many there.
HOW TO CATEGORISE TEXTS?
Your first question in the exam will be grouping texts and this is 48 marks which is half of the total marks for the paper
so this question is important. Don’t forget that as both questions carry the same weight then don’t focus on one more
than the other as this will make you lose marks for definite. Certain groupings can link so if you focus on genre (for
example) and then for your next grouping you focus on purpose but genre needs to be mentioned, only highlight it as
this is wasting time-you don’t have that long to waste writing something you have already written.
Texts can be classified through many different categories and you need to be able to show why the texts fit into the
category, i.e. evidence and it is important that you use key terms (located in the table above) with the use of
frameworks integrated into the answer. However, many texts have a complex overlap and don’t fit perfectly into the
category; it is your job in this answer to highlight this also.
Weighting of the question:
10% AO1 (key terms)
10% AO2 (theories/frameworks/concepts)
10% AO3 (context)
This table is not ideal in the exam but if this is the first time you’ve practiced a question then this table is useful:
Text
A
AO1
AO2
AO3
Study texts A-F. These texts illustrate different varieties of language use. Discuss various ways in
which these texts can be grouped, giving linguistic reasoning for your choice.
Focus on the frameworks to form a systematic response, this makes it explicit.
TIPS FOR STRUCTURING THE ANSWER
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When you introduce a grouping, immediately show if there are any problems within the groupings in order to
be evaluative and show similarities/differences.
Also consider the effects of context.
Fluently link paragraphs.
TYPES OF GROUPINGS AND W HAT YOU COULD EXPLORE:
Remember MR G CRAP (Mode, Register, Genre, Context, Representation, Audience and
Purpose).
Genre
Author (Implied reader/actual writer and context of production)
This is crucial to learn about the genre and audience.
How was it
received?
Context
How was
it made?
Context of reception
Context of production
Actual writer
The
writer of
the text
Implied reader
Implied writer
The writer’s
beliefs who
will read their
text
The reader’s
beliefs who
wrote this
text
Actual reader
The person who
reads the text
The range of contexts in which the texts are produced changes the meaning and the text can be changed by the
interaction between the reader and the writer. Depending on how a text is used whether in an advertisement or a song
changes the meaning, it relies on the textual cues presented.
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It depends on the situation of the text.
The meaning is never fixed, it is flexible.
Textual cues are presented and structured in an intentional way by the producer.
The reader’s role is not a passive one.
Mode
This completely depends on the PURPOSE as whether the use of either a written or spoken purpose and the use of
images, e.g. huge colourful pictures would not be appropriate in a letter to the prime minister. When there is multimodality throughout the texts, this creates differences and this can be easily identified using the GENRE, e.g.
transcript as this will be definitely in the exam so if you get panicked then mode can be a certain grouping. Also
images can be sub-categorised into prominent images and less prominent, this is another idea for differences in
modality.
It is important to know about the background of speech and writing, why is one has primacy over the other?
It seems that speech has primacy over writing and this is because you can find out much more detail about the author,
e.g. their accent, behaviour and upbringing. Writing only shows implied meanings and suggestions of where they are
from but their accent is a direct connection to their hometown. Speech also makes more of a connection between the
lexis and you are able to understand the tones through the use of emotions, e.g. shouting at a high decibel is much
more effective than an exclamation mark. Speech is also more valued as spontaneous speech (mainly) can never be
recorded and so it is seen as being more precious.
Multi-modality
Target audience (Implied writer/ actual reader and context of reception)
Purpose
This can be categorised through
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Writing to argue
Writing to entertain
Writing to persuade
Writing to inform
This depends on the TARGET AUDIENCE and this is because this helps understand who the text is focused on
(implied reader). There are broad purpose categories that you can generalise the texts into which are recreational
and professional
Secondary purpose
Tenor
Register
Focus on the CONTEXT OF RECEPTION if you use this genre, why is this formality being used? Is this followed using
SPECIALIST REGISTER (for example)? It is easy to compare formal and informal texts if this is visible as they allow
you to show differences and they usually have completely different TARGET AUDIENCES-this could be mentioned in
depth or briefly if used as an earlier grouping. There could be potential differences as there may be a change in tone
and depending on the interaction with the reader, this can change the formality throughout.
There are types of register:
The mode: medium of communication.
The tenor: the relationship between the producer and the receiver.
The field: general purpose of communication.
The register: how formal you are.
Frameworks
Phonology
Lexis
Modal verbs (could, should, would, might, ought to, must, can, will, may, shall) and their purpose
Direct address
Specialist lexis
Conditionals
Minor sentences
Questions (rhetorical or interrogatives etc.)
Simple sentence
Exclamatives
Declarative/statement
Repetition
Pronoun reference (pronoun substituted for a noun)
Ellipsis
Positive/negative adjectives
Non-standard English
Graphology
Discourse
Semantics
Modification (common in advertisements, reviews, menus, newspaper headlines, descriptive writing)
Imperatives
Directive and Phatic token (other or self-related)
QUESTION 2: A BASIC STRUCTURE
Weighting of the question:
AO2-10% (16/48)
AO3-20% (32/48)
Structuring your response
It's a good idea to take a systematic approach to analysing a text in detail (the second part of the ENB1 exam) to work
methodically through the six frameworks:
•
Discourse Structure
•
Graphology
•
Lexis
•
Grammar/Syntax
•
Phonology
•
Pragmatics
Remember, though, frameworks don't always apply to texts. A written essay, for example, might not use graphology at
all. Only comment on those frameworks that are relevant to the text; unless the absence of one is used for a certain
affect.
It's easy just to focus on the most obvious frameworks, like graphology, and forget more difficult ones like discourse
structure and pragmatics. For the higher marks, try to remember to think about all six of them!
LANGUAGE AND POWER
KEY WORDS
Allusion
Child directed speech
Collocations
Conditionals
Constraints
Deontic modality
Epistemic modality
Face
Face-threatening act
Formulation
Holding the floor
Ideology
Influential power
Initiating a conversation/changing and controlling
topics
Developed themes
This is speech which is aimed at children; examples
include repetition, difference in in initation.
E.g. ‘father’
These include words such as ‘if’ and they offer
possibility.
Ways in which more powerful participants may block
or control the contributions of less powerful
participants, e.g. through controlling the agenda or
interrupting.
They are modal auxiliary verbs which show degrees
of necessity and obligation.
They are modal auxiliary verbs which show degrees
or possibility, probability or certainty.
A person’s self-esteem or emotional needs. Brown
and Levinson’s face theory.
A communication act that threatens someone’s
positive-or negative-face needs. Brown and
Levinson’s face theory.
The rewording of another’s contribution by a
powerful participant to impose a certain meaning or
understanding.
This is when the speaker leaves little or no time for
others to speak out.
A set of belief systems, attitudes or a world view
held by an individual or groups.
Power used to influence or persuade others.
This is when you take the lead in a conversation.
Initiation-response-feedback
Instrumental power
Liturgies
Leading questions
Less powerful participants
Management speech
Metadiscoursal language
Members’ resources
Motivational discourse
Negative face
Oppressive discourse strategy
Parallelism
Personal power
Political power
Positive and negative politeness strategies
Positive face
Power asymmetry
Power behind discourse
Power in discourse
Powerful participant
Prevarication
Repressive discourse strategy
Sermons
Small talk
Social group power
Synthetic personalisation
Unequal encounter
This was introduced by Sinclair and Coulthard; it is a
type of triadic structure that uses further questions
for reformulation.
Power used to maintain and enforce authority.
Chants. Thanksgiving, hymns and psalms.
Use of an opinion to ask a question.
Those with less status in a given context, who are
subject to constraints imposed by more powerful
participants.
This is the use of jargon and the idea of inclusivity
and exclusivity, e.g. thinking outside the box.
This is talking about talk, e.g. ‘we need to talk
about…’
Highlighted by Norman Fairclough in advertising,
they are the vast amount of background knowledge
and information that readers use in order to interpret
texts and which may be drawn on explicitly by text
producers.
This is often used in speech in the classroom and
introduced by Skinner (behaviourism) with the idea
of positive reinforcement to increase the chances of
a behaviour occurring.
The need to have freedom of through action and not
feel imposed on. Brown and Levinson’s face theory.
Linguistic behaviour that is open it’s exercising of
power and control.
Both in concepts and syntactical structures.
Those who hold power as a result of their
occupation or role, such as teachers and employers.
Wareing,1999
Power held by those with the backing of the law.
Wareing,1999
Redressive strategies that a speaker might use to
mitigate or avoid face-threatening acts. Brown and
Levinson’s face theory.
The need to feel wanted liked and appreciated.
Brown and Levinson’s face theory.
A marked difference in the power status of
individuals involved in discourse.
The focus on the social and ideological reasons
behind the power held.
The ways in which power is created in situations of
language.
A speaker with a higher status in a given context,
who is therefore able to impose a degree of power.
Refusing to answer the question.
A more indirect way of exercising power and control
through conversational constraints.
Moral statements
Talk that is primarily interactional in orientation and
is geared towards establishing relationships.
Those who hold power as a result of social
variables, such as class, gender and age.
Introduced by Norman Fairclough, this is the way
the text producers use personalised language to
construct a relationship between them and the text
receiver.
Term highlighted by Norman Fairclough, this is just
another word for asymmetrical, highlighting the
power one speaker has over another.
HOW TO ANSWER A QUESTION
Introduction: define mode, manner, field and audience.
Paragraphs: frameworks to show the examiner that it is a systematic approach.
TYPES OF POWER
INSTRUMENTAL
This is to make people do things or make things happen; so used in commands or setting conditions. Example texts
could be: legal or official documents, rules, contracts, forms. It is used in order to maintain and enforce authority.
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Formal Register (Making the voice seem distant rather than friendly)
Specialist & Latinate Lexis
Imperative sentences (You must do this ...)
Modal Auxiliaries; e.g. must, will, can (Express certainty and confidence in telling you what you can or cannot
do)
Conditionals (if...)
Declarative sentences
Faceless language; e.g. impersonal constructions, official job titles
Avoidance of ambiguity
Mitigation (When a writer tries to sound polite or “soften” the bluntness of a statement)
INFLUENTIAL
This is the power to make us believe or support something. This is used in order to persuade or influence others.
These are generally found in political or media texts.
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Embedded assumptions (You will want to read this ...)
Metaphoric references (“A healthy economy”, obviously economies don’t get sick!)
Assertions (Opinions stated as facts)
Loaded language (lexis chosen to evoke strong negative/positive connotations) e.g. ethnic cleansing vs. mass
murder
This is a link to the key theorist Wareing (1999) and his types of powers.
ASYMMETRY
An imbalance in address form often indicates a difference in status.
For instance, you might address your boss/teacher by a more formal term of address e.g. ‘Sir’ or ‘Mrs Baker’, but they
would usually call you by your first name.
The person in the superior position may allow you to call them by a more symmetrical form of address (e.g. “You can
call me Andy”) but this can only be initiated by them.
Younger family members address older family members by titles e.g. ‘Grandpa’, ‘Mummy’, ‘Aunt Muriel’, whilst the
reverse rarely occurs (‘son’ is sometimes used, but never ‘daughter’).
More powerful participants can place constraints because of this asymmetry.
Main example is in education.
IDEOLOGIES
Ideology just means a particular set of beliefs/ideas or 'world views' which any organisation, individual or political party
holds. When you are reading texts, you need to think about what ideologies are present within it (what does the text
producer believe/what sort of views are implied by their particular language choices/stance on a particular issue?) and
ways in which the audience are being manipulated or persuaded to go along with/agree with this prevailing ideology?
EXERTING POWER THROUGH CONVERSATION
If a transcript is given in an exam then there are a few things to look out for:
Initiating a conversation/changing and controlling topics – this essentially means taking the lead and choosing
the topic of conversation. Controlling which topics are talked about can be a sign of dominance and may reflect a
superior status e.g. a teacher deciding the topic of a lesson.
Topic changing – This can be a method of reasserting control if someone loses it. Politicians will tend to do this if they
are uncomfortable with a topic.
Link to education and political interviews
Holding the Floor – This is when a speaker leaves little or no time for others to speak out
Imperative sentences – Giving orders and directions can be a sign of dominance
Question Asking-asking direct questions towards someone can indicate a higher status. This demonstrates power as
the questioner expects to receive information from the recipient. If someone is meant to ask lots of questions, such as
a detective then you should expect this sort of thing, so be aware of occupation if this affects conversation.
Unresponsiveness – This is more negative method of assertion. If the speaker is ignored or if back-channelling
(mmm/ uh huh) are hesitant then the status of the speaker is undermined.
Interruption -people with a higher status are more likely to interrupt another speaker as they may feel what they have
to say is either more important, or what the other person is saying is somehow invalid or not relevant. Interrupting
could be a way of showing that you agree or you are listening.
Speech Length-in many circumstances the person who speaks for the longest amount of time holds the most power
(e.g. a manager talking to a group of employees) as they expect to be listened to. However, in different contexts the
person who speaks for the shortest length of time is the most powerful (e.g. an interviewee is likely to talk longer even
though the interviewer is in the position of power).
Closing down a conversation – This asserts power by not allowing other speakers to carry on talking.
Some signs of dominance may be meant as signs of support.
REMEMBER! CONTEXT IS IMPORTANT HERE (and everywhere else during the whole examination but especially
question 2)!
EXERTING POWER THROUGH W RITTEN DISCOURSE
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Images with connotation colours, e.g. the colour red suggest danger and love.
Modal auxiliary verbs, note the difference between possibility (would, could) and certainty (must, should). This
can portray the tone of the text.
Use of bullet points to break down information.
Declarative and imperative sentences.
Use of anecdotes.
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Emotive lexis.
Synthetic personalisation-Norman Fairclough.
Face needs: positive (e.g. flattery) and negative (e.g. hedging).
Facts and statistics, e.g. 99% of bees make honey and this might be used on an anti bee poster, it can be
used to make the text more credible.
Figurative lexis.
Pragmatics.
POWER IN CONTEXTS
EDUCATION
Schools only have a limited amount of power and that’s normally a last resort such as exclusion. This is because
students hold a great deal of power in this context as well as teachers.
Conventionally it is seen that:
Teachers will use…
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Imperatives
Direct questions
Use formulation
Use of initiation response feedback (IRF)
Procedural discourse
Declarative sentences show knowledge of the expert with use of subject specific lexis
Tag questions
Back channelling
Hedging
Politeness strategies
Face needs (Brown and Levinson)
Deictic referencing
Motivational discourse, Skinner Behaviourism via the use of positive reinforcement
Child directed speech, i.e. repetition, change in tone.
Link to Drew and Heritage’s Talk at Work and Brown and Levinson’s face theory, they can
be both applied here.
Students on the other hand may use fewer imperatives and ask more indirect questions “can I go to the loo?”
There is also an imbalance in address terms – students will address teachers like “Mr Bond” but teachers will address
students by their first names “James”. This asymmetry is age dependent but the power difference is mainly because of
the personal power due to the job and the role (Wareing, 1999) and the instrumental power due to the power held by
the organisation (the school).
Again context is important! Check to see whether it seems that the teacher has an established relationship with the
students for example, such as telling jokes or is there expectations and is there evidence of prior learning, e.g. ‘last
lesson’.
ADVERTISING
Advertising is one of the most persuasive techniques in language and power; it constantly draws the reader’s attention
to products that (the advertisers believe) will add something to our lives-to improve it.
Advertising is suggested to focus on a way of life that it is seen as inspiring. It is suggested to be a by-product of a
capitalist economy, the private acquisition of certain items (Dyer’s star theory).
(AO2) FAIRCLOUGH 2001
Advertising is an example of ideology at work via building a relationship between the text producer and receiver by a
product image which sets up the reader as a potential consumer.
FIRST STAGE: BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH PERSONALISATION
Text producer’s use of directive imperative address and the use of personal pronouns (e.g. you/your) sets up a
relationship where the text producer is seen as humane (talking/communicating from one person to another) rather
than unfamiliar, faceless representation of an organisation. This building relationship represents an implied familiarity
to represent closeness.
Fairclough calls this synthetic personalisation (also applied in different contexts) - the requirement to construct a
relationship between the text producer and receiver.
SECOND STAGE: MEMBERS’ RESOURCES TO CREATE AN IMAGE
Advertising works in with conjunction of the reader’s ideologies; their background knowledge of their ideas. The visual
elements of a text can evoke a mental image depending on the implied reader. This can also be supported by
language or verbal cues.
THIRD STAGE: BUILDING THE CONSUMER
This is placing the text receiver in a desired position in relation to the advertiser. The implied reader has to agree with
the ideologies presented.
BUSINESS
Managers must be able to motivate, manage, empower people, facilitate cooperation, appraise staff and initiate
change.
There are three different types of management power:
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Authority
Knowledge
Respect
MANAGEMENT SPEAK-this is the use of jargon and the idea of inclusivity and exclusivity, e.g. thinking outside the
box.
META-DISCOURSAL LANGUAGE-this is talking about talk, e.g. ‘we need to talk about…’
SPOKEN WORKPLACE GENRES
MEETINGS
They are highly structured and organised interactions with a chairman who opens and closes the meeting.
There is usually a main agenda; depending on the hierarchy someone may change this.
The type of language used:
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Meta-discoursal comments
Discourse organising phrases
Politeness strategies (Brown and Levinson’s face theory)
Use of vocatives, e.g. James, Mr Bond.
Questions
Paralinguistic features
Assertion
Metaphorical language
NEGOGIATIONS
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Use of rhetorical questions
Assertion may involve longer utterances.
Brown and Levison’s face theory.
This type of negotiations may be used in contract deals, haggling, redundancies and promotions.
STAGES OF NEGOGIATIONS
1. Exchanging information-both parties know what the interests and needs of the other are.
2. Bidding-the start of the actual negotiations, making initial offers or proposals.
3. Bargaining-core phrase, negotiators argue their case and try to persuade the other party.
4. Settling and concluding –ends in a mutual, satisfactory agreement.
PROCEDURAL DISCOURSE
INSTRUCTIONS
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Deictic referencing
Imperative verbs
Declarative sentences
Interruption
Temporal discourse markers, e.g. ‘now’.
Third person address
Softened imperatives
LAW
Law unlike many other categories distinctly has its own specialist register. Many Latinate and French origin words
reside in legal language. But why is it used? Its complexity may confuse non-specialists making the language seem
like a code and therefore this leaves the lawyers with practically all the power in court.
Interestingly, in 1999 Civil Courts began to change their lexicon to more understandable lexis. For example; “inter
partes” is now “with notice”. But some linguists argue that the reason that legal language has so many archaic
expressions is due to the respect they hold to old traditions.
The legal language has very complex syntactical structures with complex sentences and subordinate clauses
everywhere.
POLITICS
The sole purpose of political language is to persuade. Politicians will constantly use rhetoric devices that grab the
audience’s attention.
Rhetoric language may include:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Repetition
Rule of 3
First Person Plural Pronoun (we/us)
Rhetorical questions
Hyperbole
POLITICAL INTERVIEWS
f. PREVARICATION-refusing to answer the question.
g. LEADING QUESTIONS-use of an opinion to ask a question.
SPEECHES
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Use of personal pronouns, e.g. ‘we/you’
Repetition, tautology (used sparingly repetition of the same meaning in two consecutive words), antistrophe
(repetition of words/phrases at the end of consecutive sentences), anaphora (repetition of words/phrases at
the beginning of consecutive sentences).
Parallelism-two concepts linked together.
Statistics
Historical illusions, e.g. referral to successful presidents in a presidency speech for change from the same
party.
Modal auxiliary verbs
Listing
Inclusivity
Use of abstract nouns referring to concepts
Metaphors
Change in volume, tone, initation, pace and pauses.
Use of exclamatives.
Anecdotes
Emotive lexis
Imperative verbs
Humour
Problem-solution discourse
THE CHURCH
Language and Christianity has influenced the development of English. In all religious written prose, sacred texts
provide the central focus for worship. Alterations to translation are controversial.
Sacred texts are means of spiritual belief they seek to persuade people to believe and act in a moral way (conative
function).
Types of religious texts:
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Prayers-polite command or request.
Liturgies-chants. Thanksgiving, hymns and psalms.
Sermons-moral statements
Theological texts
It is typically aimed at older people and they abide by the vicar or other religious figure that controls the agenda.
Techniques used:
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Allusion-develops themes.
Collocations, e.g. ‘father’.
Parallelism- both in concepts and syntactical structures.
Subject specific lexis
Formulaic utterances, e.g. ‘we are gathered here today’.
Symbolism
Personalisation
Metaphors
Triadic structures
Antithesis
Repetition
Stative verbs
First person pronouns
Archaic pronouns, e.g. ‘thee’.
Subjects and verbs inverted.
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Inflictive suffixes (old grammar), e.g. ‘abideth’
Compound, complex and compound complex sentences.
THEORISTS
TYPES OF POWER: (WAREING-1999)
Personal – as a result of their occupation or role, e.g. teachers, managers, employers
Political – held by politicians, the police and workers in the law courts
Social Group-those who hold power as a result of social variables: class, (ethnicity-no longer a large problem but it still
occurs), age and gender.
SINCLAIR & COULTHARD’S INITIATION-RESPONSE-FEEDBACK
Initiation, Response & Feedback (Adjacency triplets)
An example
Teacher: Does anyone know four times four?
Student: Sixteen
Teacher: Well done!
GRICE'S MAXIMS
Also found in language and technology.
1.
Maxim of relevance - be relevant
2.
Maxim of quality - be truthful
3.
Maxim of quantity - don't say too much, too little
4.
Maxim of manner - be clear
BROW N & LEVINSON FACE THREATENING ACTS
This is also in language and technology.
(Face threatening acts)
Face is the public self-image that every adult tries to project.
Positive face two ways: as "the want of every member that his wants be desirable to at least some others", or
alternately, "the positive consistent self-image or 'personality' (crucially including the desire that this self-image be
appreciated and approved of) claimed by interactants".
Positive face = desires to be liked, admired, ratified, and related to positively, noting that one would threaten positive
face by ignoring someone
Face saving acts.
Positive politeness strategy-this is by the use of flattery.
Negative politeness strategy-this is by the use of hedging.
Negative face was defined as "the want of every 'competent adult member' that his actions be unimpeded by others",
or "the basic claim to territories, personal preserves, rights to non-distraction--i.e. the freedom of action and freedom
from imposition".
LAKOFF'S POLITENESS PRINCIPLES
Lakoff believed that a co-operative conversation required:
•
Not imposing
•
giving options
•
Making the receiver feel good.
FAIRCLOUGH’S MODEL
Unequal encounter, this is an alternative term for asymmetrical, highlighting the power one speaker has over another.
'Synthetic personalisation’ - this is the process of addressing mass audiences as though they were individuals through
inclusive language usage. E.g. this is shown in pronouns (we/us etc.).
Power IN discourse - power is manifested in situations through language. This is where power situations are set up
and intact. This will focus on language use and how power is exercised.
Power BEHIND discourse - this is backed by an institution, social or ideological reasons. This is concerned with the
organisation of institutions and the effects of those power relations on various use of language. This refers to
contextualising linguistic features according to wider ideologies, hierarchical structures and power relationships.
DREW AND HERITAGE “TALK ABOUT WORK/INSTITUTIONAL TALK”
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Goal orientation
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Turn-taking rules/restrictions
•
Allowable contributions
•
Professional lexis
•
Structure
•
Asymmetry
DOCTOR’S POW ER/DIAGNOSTIC INTERVIEW (CANDACE W EST)
•
History-taking, physical examination, diagnosis, management/treatment
•
Schema – mental model
Candace West found that female doctors use more mitigated directives, males use more aggravated directives
LOUIS A… AUDIENCE POSITIONING
The use of prevailing ideologies are the setup of society, this is in relation to the perceptions that are fixed.
E.g. masculinity is a type of ideology/stereotype.
Interpellation is that even the most innocent texts can powerfully influence the audience, e.g. fables.
Message-normal level
Codes-pragmatic meanings
LANGUAGE AND TECHNOLOGY
MY TARGETS
Develop discussions that are typical of the particular genre and why this might be. You could also make more of
comparisons, e.g. TV/Radio.
Create a sound analysis by engaging contextual factors such as online features; always think about the wider
audience.
KEY WORDS
Acronym
Asynchronous discourse
bcc/ccc
Deictic referencing
Flamers
Framing
Greeting sequence
Homophonic representation
How are you sequence
Identification/recognition
Initialism
Lexical accommodation
Lurkers
Metatalk
Phatic speech acts
Phonetic spelling
Pre-closing sequence
This is a phrase of words that have been abbreviated to
just the starting of the word BUT they are pronounced as
one whole word, ‘lol’ (laugh out loud).
There are delays between turns, e.g. message boards.
Carbon copy/blind carbon copy, these are elements of an
email message. A carbon copy is sent to another
participant and the other person who is receiving the mail
can see it, there is also a blind carbon copy, this is sent to
another participant and the other participant who is
receiving the mail cannot see the mail.
This has been used in radios and television
commentaries, it refers to something that the audience
might be able to see or not, ‘here/there’.
Posting aggressive thoughts or responses to threads.
This is often used in emails, it is where you cut and paste
parts of an original message into a new message.
It is used to initiate a shared social space, this may not
occur between unequal participants, some do not
want/need this shared social space and may go straight
to the agenda of the conversation.
This is the use of both a letter and a number joined
together to create a word, ‘m8’ (mate).
This is used as phatic talk to engage the other participant
so that they are not talking to them for one reason. This
may not occur between unequal encounters, a boss and
their colleague may not ask each other how they are,
however, and this is very reliant on the relationship
between participants.
This is used so both participants know each other. This
may not be necessary for newer technology, challenge
this with caller ids, Skype etc.
This is a phrase of words that have been abbreviated to
just the starting of the word, ‘lmk’ (let me know).
This is the way in which speakers mirror each other’s
lexical choices as a sign of community membership.
E.g. Amy-ha-ha, that’s hilarious 
Clive-I know, I thought that x
Amy-yeah x
A user who reads a message board as a member or a
guest and rarely posts.
This draws attention to the act of talking, ‘well it has been
great talking to you but…’
These are turns designed to maintain a sense of
cooperation or respect for the other participant.
These are words that are spelt like they are pronounced,
‘iluvu’ (I love you).
This signals that one (or both) speakers wish to end the
conversation.
Prosodic features
Schegloff
Stickie
Summons
Synchronous discourse
Trollers
Valediction
Variant spelling
Vowel omission
These are used instead of paralinguistic techniques
(hand movements etc. to add more meaning to words);
they are used to provide emphasis or other effects. E.g.
‘hmmm/ha-ha!!!!’
He introduced the opening sequence of a telephone
conversation: summons/answer, identification, greeting
sequence and how are you sequence.
He is one of the key theorists for language and
technology and although he is used in telephone
conversations, you can adapt this to see how language is
changed in msn conversations perhaps.
A thread that is considered to be important regardless of
how many times it has been read or responses. E.g. the
rules of the message boards.
This is the first part of Schegloff’s opening sequence, it
opens the conversation. The use of different terms of
address can show you the levels of power between the
participants; remember this will change between friends
and work colleagues. Also remember this can be affected
by different cultures, remember not everyone answers the
phone the same.
This takes place in real time, e.g. msn conversations.
Posting messages with the intention of irritating others.
An item that acts like a farewell.
This is a different way of spelling a word, ‘wot’ (what).
This is used in text messages and this is where words
have vowels missing, ‘pls’ (please).
TYPES OF TECHNOLOGY TEXTS
WEB PAGES
Features include:
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Synthetic personalisation-Norman Fairclough- use of personal pronouns and direct address.
House-Style
Updated throughout the day
More dynamic that traditional writing
Side bars
Interactive
Hyperlinks
More permanent than traditional speech
Their purpose is to entertain, inform and persuade.
They may resemble print documents; however, they are complex sites of navigation.
They provide resources.
TELEPHONE CONVERSATION:
FEATURES OF A TELEPHONE CONVERSATION
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Fillers used to keep turn.
Turn taking.
Overlapping can show enthusiasm or dominance.
Contexts affect lexis.
Formality affected by purpose of call.
Spontaneous speech may result to colloquialism.
Use of adjacency pairs.
OPENING SEQUENCE OF A TELEPHONE CONVERSATION
Schegloff’s theory - summons/answer  identification/recognition  greeting sequence  how are you sequence.
EVALUATION OF SCHEGLOFF’S THEORY
-Doesn’t follow cultures.
-This may be different for mixed gender conversations.
-If you don’t know the other speaker then identification may not occur.
-Power relationships may be difficult as they may not follow the how are you sequence.
-The introduction of new technology may remove the identification, e.g. caller id.
CLOSING SEQUENCE OF A TELEPHONE CONVERSATION
PRE-CLOSING SEQUENCE- this signals that one (or both) speakers wish to end the conversation.
METATALK-this is talk that draws attention to the act of talking itself.
PHATIC SPEECH ACTS –turns designed to maintain a sense of cooperation or respect for the other speaker.
VALEDICTION-this is an item that acts as a farewell.
ANSWERING PHONE MESSAGES
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Monological.
Pauses because of the spontaneous speech.
Emphasis on key words to increase comprehension.
Ellipsis to mimic natural speech.
Specialist jargon often related to phones (hash key, dial pad)
Imperative often used (instructions).
Politeness strategies often present.
Caller has limited ability to interrupt.
TEXT MESSAGES
The register of a text message is affected by audience, purpose, and context.
Texts can be ambiguous due to a lack of prosodic features.
FEATURES OF TEXT MESSAGES
VOWEL OMISSION-pls (please), ppl (people)
HOMOPHONIC REPRESENTATION-m8 (mate)
PHONETIC SPELLING-iluvu (I love you)
INITIALISM-lmk (let me know)
ACRONYM-lol (laugh out loud)
VARIANT SPELLING-wot (what)
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Non-standard spelling and punctuation (similar to speech).
Usually informal.
Text abbreviations may occur because of the time, cost, and constraint in the amount of characters or lexical
accommodation.
There are several attitudes to text speak, some suggest its creativity and may improve literacy standards, others
would argue that it is slipping standards and destroying English-the Guardian articles, early 2000s.
RADIO CALL INS
There is a focus on the presenter who in this context is seen as a figure of authority.
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Minor sentences
Elliptical forms
Phatic talk
Politeness (face theory)-Brown and Levinson
Co-operative principles- Grice’s Maxims
Simple and Undemanding vocabulary
Pauses are rare
Although radio phone ins are suggested to be live and spontaneous, it is often that the production teams undertake a
range of practices to eliminate unwanted problems.
BBC radio phone in guidelines
Contributors to phone ins should normally be called back and if necessary briefed before they go on air.
Reduce taboo language
There should be a civil agreement
Check any issues
Emails and texts should be checked before they are read out.
TELEVISION COMMENTARIES
WHAT IS THE DIFFERNECE BETWEEN TELEVISION AND RADIO?
Radio
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Deictic referencing 'here'
Longer utterances
Short pauses
Full sentences
Adjectives
Omission of personal
pronouns
• Foxuses on the initiation
of the speaker's voice to
provide emotions
• Informative
TV
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Deictic referencing 'here'
Long pauses
Minimal information
Incomplete sentences
EMAILS:
There are various purposes which include advertisements and organisation of meetings (for example).
It is used to communicate different types of information.
STYLISTIC FEATURES OF AN EMAIL
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Receiver body, sender of an email
Subject
Email address
Framing
Framing' is a term that is usually associated with emails. Therefore, it will be obvious from the text if framing has
occurred because the message will often be forwarded from one person to another.
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Date
Carbon copy (cc), blind carbon copy (bcc)
Attachment
Use of framing (copying and pasting parts of a message)
Typos and misspellings more accepted.
Informal with many features of spoken discourse.
Ellipsis.
Jargon often specific to context.
Spelling is more non-standard.
MESSAGE BOARDS AND CHAT ROOMS
Message boards follow asynchronous discourse (there are delays between turns), chat room conversations follow
synchronous discourse (takes place in real time).
FEATURES OF MESSAGE BOARDS
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Populated by users with an interest in a topic. They have their own username which may link to the nature of
the board-indication of the speaker’s age, gender or location.
Displayed as threads. Threads are distinguished by titles,
Messages are passed by a moderator.
Use of emoticons, capitalisation and exclamation marks.
It usually goes off topic.
Pragmatically they are expected to follow set rules.
Lexical accommodation can occur when speakers mirror each other’s lexical choices as a sign of a
community membership.
Framing
Alternatively, framing will be used on message boards. Again, it will be clear if framing has happened because the
copied text is usually a box within a box to show the message has been copied over- use the graphological features to
help you here.
There are types of people that are common in message boards who don’t follow the pragmatically implied rules:
Lurkers-a user who reads a message board as a member or guest but who rarely, if ever, posts.
Trollers-the posting of messages with the intention of irritating others
Flamers-the act of positive aggressive threads or responses to threads
FEATURES OF CHAT ROOMS
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Idiosyncratic use of language, this is exclusive to the discourse community.
Elongation to represent prosodic features.
WEB BLOGS
They are similar to an electronic diary, accessible to anyone who chooses to navigate the site.
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Their purpose is to entertain, inform and persuade.
May contain links to other blogs and websites of a particular interest.0
They may resemble print documents; however, they are complex sites of navigation.
They provide resources.
THEORISTS
GRICE'S MAXIMS (1975)
Maxim of Quantity - Do not say too much or too little in a conversation.
Maxim of Quality - Be truthful when speaking.
Maxim of Relevance - Keep to the point and to not evade the question.
Maxim of Manner - Speak in a clear and orderly way.
SCHEGLOFF'S OPENING SEQUENCE (1986)
1) Summons/ answer. - opens the channel of communication.
2) Identification/ recognition. - Not needed for Face-to-face.
3) Greetings sequence.
4) How are you sequence?
LAKOFF'S RULE FOR CONVERSATIONS
1) Be clear.
2) Be Polite.
3) Do not impose.
4) Give options.
5) Be friendly.
BROWN & LEVINSON FACE THEORY
Face = public self-image
Positive Face = the need to be like and accepted.
Negative Face = the need to not be imposed upon.
Positive Politeness = Used with friends to emphasise solidarity (shared references/grammar)
Negative Politeness = Emphasise respect if there's a social difference between speakers.
HOWARD GILES - CONVERGENCE AND DIVERGENCE THEORY
Convergence - Speech is adjusted to match others (Shows unity and feeling of shared identity)
Divergence - Opposite to convergence but emphasises separation and distinction.
FURTHER READING
TXTNG THE GR8 DB8, BY DAVID CRYSTAL
KEY POINTS
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There is a stereotyped convention of texting, portrayed by the media is that everyone uses abbreviated texts.
However, it is shown that abbreviated language is not needed when texting, it is an option and not a
requirement.
Many people are shocked and worried about the state of language because of the symbols, they almost seem
to not notice the Standard English that are fluent throughout many text messages; otherwise many people
wouldn’t understand it. Many people find abbreviations such as ‘m8’ as destroying English language but
abbreviations have been common throughout language’s history. E.g. Fe is a recognised word despite it being
an abbreviation.
Visually text messages are usually over half the same as its traditional representation and grammatically most texts
are straightforward and easy to understand.
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Apostrophes are rarely omitted due to the apostrophe causing clarity: we’re/were.
Text messages are stylistically diverse and this is partly down to age and familiarity (or lack of it) with the
medium. This is common with other kinds of electronic communication, such as emails. When email began,
some people broke the rules of spelling, capitalisation and punctuation, and this daring style became
fashionable. However, as email spread through the population, its style began to reflect the linguistic habits of
the users, many of whom were only comfortable with the use of Standard English.
With text messages there have been apparent gender differences, age, regional and ethnical differences.
The most notable features of text are the use of single letters, numbers and typographic symbols or even
noises such as ‘zzz’ or ‘xxx’, these are technically known as logograms or logographs. There is also the use of
emoticons where the meaning is entirely a function of the shape, there has been a differing in emoticons:
either read sideways or straight ahead (common in East Asian systems). These are more common instant
messaging rather than texting with ‘’ and ‘xxx’ the most commonly used.
Another common feature is initialisms, these are common in areas other than texting such as NATO which is
often known as an acronym and BBC known as alphabetisms (it depends on how the initialisms are
pronounced.
ARTICLES
Article name
Whatever happened to text
language?
Date of article
2006
Texting is no bar to literacy
2004
Texting-an analysis
2001
Main point
Outrage at Shakespearean language.
Language is downgraded to
abbreviations.
Text speak affects our language.
Limited children’s creativity; not
altered spelling.
There is an expectation of
technology.
A growth in text industry.
LANGUAGE AND GENDER
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SEX AND GENDER?
Sex is the biological differences between males and females.
Gender is the differences in behaviour and roles that are a result of social expectations
Masculine and feminine behaviour isn’t a result of a person’s sex but part of a socialisation process that begins when
we are children.
GENERAL ASSUMPTIONS OF SPEECH
This is known as folklingustics which are assumptions with no real evidence.
Examples of these would include:
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Girls gossip more
Men don’t like gossip as much as women
Girls do most of the talking
Talking to women is almost like a hobby
These are largely related to stereotypes.
RESEARCH INTO SPOKEN DISCOURSE
Since the 1970s researchers have explored the assumptions about female language. Many of these existed to
reinforce stereotypes about female speech. This is now known as folklingustics- attitudes and assumptions about
language that have no real evidence to support them.
THEORISTS AND APPROACHES
Key theorist
Key approach/concepts
What did this concept believe and what are the criticisms?
Trudgill and
Cheshire
Covert prestige
In Norwich, Trudgill had a large sample of data in his
investigation, which involved the study of how male and
female speakers pronounced the suffix –ing, e.g.
walking/talking.
It was found that men tended to underreport the use of the
suffix whilst women tended to over report which suggests
that men attach covert prestige to Non Standard English.
Lakoff (1975)
The deficit model from
‘language and the women’s
place’.
First linguist to write about language and gender. She
believes that women are inferior (deficient) to men who
lacks authority compared to male speech and this is shown
linguistically in their speech. She ascertained that women
use a range of specific features (including tag questions,
hedges,
Weak expletives
Instead of swear words (e.g. “oh dear” instead of taboo).
According to Lakoff, women are forbidden to display anger
and to express opinions forcefully, reinstating male power.
Empty adjectives
According to Lakoff, there are two types of groups of these,
neutral and women-only.
Neutral ones (like ‘great’, ‘terrific’ or ‘cool’) may be used be
men and women.
The women-only adjectives include ‘adorable’, ‘sweet’,
‘lovely’ and ‘divine’. For a man to use these could be
damaging to his reputation.
Precise colour terms,
Intensifiers
e.g. “I like him so much”. This is again supposed to be a
way of avoiding strong statements or committing yourself to
an opinion.
Euphemisms to indicate a lack of assertiveness & authority.
Misunderstandings of Lakoff’s research
• Her research was based on social constructions.
• Her climate where the research began was male
dominated and so this affected her results.
• Her observations suggest that they were innate linguistic
behaviour.
• She did not account other variables that may be the
reason for being unconfident.
Criticisms
Zimmerman & West
Dominance approach
Deborah Tannen
Difference approach
Holmes suggests that compliments are used to show more
solidarity. Also they use hedges and fillers are used to show
a variety of functions and not just indecisive or misleading.
She also indicated that tag questions were used to portray
positive politeness strategies, softeners show support and
concern, and they also demonstrate security and power.
O’Barr and Atkins believed in the courtroom, men from
lower-class used uncertainty-powerless language.
Dubois and Crouch found that men used more tag
questions than women yet they were not suggested as less
confident speakers.
Coates, women used epistemic modality to avoid face
threatening acts, this includes cooperation and speaker
support.
The dominance approach is related to the research done by
Zimmerman & West in 1975 (they recorded interruptions in
conversations between men and women) and found that
96% of interruptions were made by men. The approach
suggests that the female sex is the sub-ordinate gap and
that men are more dominant in male-female conversations.
This results in primarily male-centred language. This model
shows that women had restricted linguistic freedom and
that men sought to impose their dominant status through
explicit constraints in conversation.
They suggested that men focused on controlling and
dominating mixed-sex interactions.
Parents are more likely to interrupt with assumptions. 96%
of interruptions in mixed sex conversations made by men.
Women had restricted linguistic freedom & men sought to
impose dominance through applying constraints on
conversational practice.
The difference model takes an alternative stance to
language & gender. The approach is of equality,
differentiating men and women as belonging to different
‘sub-cultures; as they have been told too since childhood.
This then means that men & women use varying
communicative styles. Deborah Tannen argues for this
approach and suggests that men tend to use a “report style”
of speaking, aiming to communicate facts and information.
They also use and give direct orders; they are also
concerned about status and independence leading them to
interrupt a lot. Whereas, women use a more “rapport style”
which is more concerned about building and keeping
relationships between people (they tend to talk less and
agree more with men). They usually give polite, indirect
orders and try to show understanding by compromising and
tend to offer support rather than solutions.
Men-----------------------------------------Women
Status-------------------- vs. --------------Support
Independence--------- vs. -------------- Intimacy
Advice-------------------- vs. ------------- Understanding
Information-------------- vs. ------------- Feeling
Order---------------------- vs. --------------Proposal
Conflict------------------- vs. --------------Compromise
O’Barr & Atkins
Gender & Status
Powerless language
Holmes
Tag questions
Recorded 150 hours of conversation interaction. Found that
women’s language was “neither characteristic nor limited
for only women.” They concluded that status was the
determining factor in speech style, not gender. “Language
differences are situation specific, reliant on whom has
authority & power in conversation rather than the gender of
the people involved”.
Tag questions are multi-functional. She distinguished
between checking tags (speaker-orientated = male) and
facilitative tags (addressee-orientated = female)
Jennifer Coates
Socialisation
Competitive & Cooperative
Speech Styles
Deborah Tannen
“You Just Don’t
Understand”
Found that girls & boys were socialised early into
generations which is reflected in their language use. Boys
develop competitive and adversarial talk, whilst girls talk is
collaborative and cooperative.
She sees men & women talking at crossed purposes – says
they are “reading from different gender scripts”. Women
speak & hear a language of connection and intimacy.
Where men speak and hear a language of status and
independence.