Los ensayos escritos en inglés como lengua
extranjera: el continuo oralidad – escrituralidad
Grauben Helena Navas Gil
FONDO EDITORIAL DE HUMANIDADES Y EDUCACIÓN
Colección Académica. SERIE TRABAJOS DE LICENCIATURA
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Las obras publicadas en la Colección Académica, series Trabajos de Ascenso y Licenciatura, solo
han sido modificadas en su diagramación no así en su contenido, respetándose su integridad el
texto que ha sido reconocido por el jurado calificador con la mención publicación.
El Editor
© Fondo Editorial de Humanidades y Educación 2004.
Departamento de Publicaciones. Universidad Central de Venezuela.
Ciudad Universitaria. Caracas-Venezuela.
Teléfonos: 605 2938. Fax: 605 2937
Trabajo grado presentado por
Grauben Helena Navas Gil para optar a la licenciatura De Idiomas
modernos
1ª edición 2004
Diseño de colección y portada: Adrián prado
Edición al cuidado de: Grupo Imagen y punto s.a.
Autoedición Electrónica: Eneida Orsini / Maritza Marturet
100 ejemplares impresos en Venezuela. Printed in Venezuela
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Universidad Central de Venezuela
Antonio Paris
RECTOR
Eleazar Narváez
VICERRECTOR ACADÉMICO
Elizabeth Marval
VICERRECTOR ADMINISTRATIVO
Cecilia García
SECRETARIA GENERAL
Facultad de Humanidades y Educación
Benjamín Sánchez
DECANO
Vincenzo Piero Lo Mónaco
COORDINADOR ACADÉMICO
Eduardo Santoro
COORDINADOR ADMINISTRATIVO
Aura Marina Boadas
COORDINADORA DE EXTENSION
Omar Astorga
COORDINADOR DE POSTGRADO
Adriana Bolívar
COORDINADORA DE INVESTIGACIÓN
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ÍNDICE
Agradecimientos
3
Resumen
6
Introducción
7
Capítulo I
1. El Problema:
1.1 Planteamiento del problema
11
1.2 Justificación
13
1.3 Objetivos de la investigación:
13
Objetivos generales
13
Objetivos específicos
13
1.4 Límites y alcances de la investigación
14
Capítulo II
2. Marco Teórico:
2.1 Antecedentes de la investigación
16
2.2 Bases teóricas del estudio
20
Capítulo III
3. Marco metodológico:
3.1 Estrategia metodológica
29
3.2 El corpus
29
3.3 Categorías de análisis
31
3.4 Niveles de análisis
32
3.5 Unidades de análisis
32
3.6 Instrumentos de recolección de datos
33
3.6.1 Matrices de recolección de información
33
Capítulo IV
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4. Resultados
4.1 El continuo planificación-no planificación
43
4.1.1 Longitud de los ensayos
43
4.1.2 Relación entre estructura y tarea
47
4.1.3 Organización explícita por parte del autor
48
4.2 El continuo compromiso-distanciamiento
55
4.2.1 Deixis de autor y de lector
55
4.2.2 Compromiso y distanciamiento con el tema
57
4.3 El continuo formalidad-informalidad
69
4.3.1 Vocabulario
69
4.3.2 Muletillas
72
4.3.3 Frases que permiten controlar el flujo de la información
73
4.3.4 Partículas enfáticas
73
4.3.5 Conectores ilativos y causales
74
4.3.6 Conectores
76
4.4 Cuadro resumen
83
4.5 El continuo inmediatez-distancia comunicativa
85
4.6 Oralidad o escrituralidad concepcional
91
Capítulo V
5. Conclusiones
94
Bibliografía
96
Anexos
99
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AGRADECIMIENTOS
Le agradezco a Papá y Mamá por estar siempre allí.
A Tosqui y a Vickybu por dictarme en inglés.
A Ainoa por su ayuda siempre desinteresada y oportuna,
Y a Adriana por su paciencia y dedicación.
A Madame de León, Dexy, Ricardo, María del Rosario, Maragno,
Feldmann y Ricarda por las clases en que no sólo me enseñaron,
sino que hicieron crecer el amor por mi carrera.
A Trila por ayudarme siempre y, por supuesto,
a las Pascualitas, a las Perolitas y a Lidia por regalarme
un poquito de su tiempo siempre que lo necesito.
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RESUMEN:
El análisis lingüístico de los modos de realización del discurso oral y escrito se ha
basado durante mucho tiempo en la descripción minuciosa de textos prototípicos, con
especial énfasis en los rasgos que, según se afirmaba, diferenciaban a ambas modalidades
y hacían a una, la escrita, superior a la otra, la oral. Sólo a partir de los años sesenta se
amplió este campo de estudio, ya que se comenzó a dejar de lado la idea de que ambas
modalidades son diametralmente opuestas y que la escrita es el canon a partir del cual se
evalúa la oral. Según esta nueva perspectiva lo oral y lo escrito no constituyen dos modos
invariables y opuestos de realización lingüística, sino los dos extremos de un continuo
entre los cuales se insertan infinidad de textos que varían según la situación comunicativa
y la función del texto. En consecuencia, actualmente se tiende a considerar la aparición
de rasgos más propios de un extremo u otro en un texto como evidencia lingüística del
tipo de texto y situación en que se produce.
Al aplicar esta nueva perspectiva de análisis al caso específico del estudiante de
una lengua extranjera nos preguntamos: ¿existen rasgos característicos de la oralidad o
escrituralidad en su producción textual?; de haberlos ¿cuáles son? y
¿cómo se
manifiestan? De allí surgió el objetivo principal de nuestra investigación: analizar
lingüísticamente los rasgos de oralidad y escrituralidad en una muestra de cincuenta
ensayos escritos en inglés por los estudiantes de tercer año de inglés de la Escuela de
Idiomas Modernos. Para la realización de este análisis usamos una metodología
cualitativa, pero con apoyo en estrategias cuantitativas. Esta investigación se basó
principalmente en las nociones de oralidad y escrituralidad concepcional e inmediatez y
distancia comunicativa del investigador alemán Wulf Österreicher.
Por medio de dicho análisis, identificamos los rasgos de planificación-no
planificación, compromiso-distanciamiento, formalidad-informalidad presentes en
nuestro corpus, lo cual nos permitió ubicar los ensayos en un continuo de inmediatez y
distancia comunicativa, y de oralidad y escrituralidad.
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INTRODUCCIÓN
El análisis del discurso ofrece actualmente una nueva forma de estudiar los textos
orales y escritos. Recientemente se ha logrado ofrecer modelos generales de análisis que
han diversificado la aproximación dicotómica tradicional al estudio de los diversos tipos
de texto, para darle cabida a una nueva corriente de investigación que habla más bien de
continuos
textuales
tales
como:
planificación-no
planificación,
compromiso-
distanciamiento, formalidad-informalidad, fragmentado-integrado, inmediatez-distancia
comunicativa, entre otros (Halliday, 1990, 1987; Tannen, 1984; Oesterreicher, 1996). En
consecuencia, hoy en día no se tiende, en general, a asociar directamente los rasgos
fragmentado, no planificado e informal, entre otros, con el discurso oral, ni a asociar los
rasgos planificado, formal e integrado con el discurso escrito, sino que más bien se
intenta relacionar estos rasgos con el contexto situacional, el canal de comunicación, las
intenciones y características sociolingüísticas del emisor y receptor del texto, y en fin,
con los más diversos aspectos que condicionan la comunicación humana.
En esta investigación partimos del supuesto de que el discurso como uso
lingüístico contextualizado no debe su estructura al medio gráfico o fónico por medio del
cual se produce, sino que su estructura se desprende de la conjunción de diversos factores
que van desde el contexto, hasta el grado de competencia lingüística de los individuos y
de las intenciones y objetivos de los emisores y receptores de los textos, porque en la
producción de un texto, ya sea oral o escrito, coactúan las más diversas condiciones de
comunicación que en diversos grados afectan la estructura de los textos.
Varios lingüistas han centrado su atención en este aspecto del análisis del
discurso, tanto en lo que se refiere a las características de los textos mismos (Halliday,
1987; Chafe, 1985, 1987; Beaman, 1984; Ochs, 1979), como a la relación entre el
momento en que se produce un texto, la concepción que se tiene del mismo y el grado de
conocimiento de la lengua por parte del autor del texto (Oesterreicher, 1996, 1997).
En síntesis, hoy en día hablamos de oralidad y escrituralidad. Con el término
oralidad nos referimos a lo característico de lo oral, y con el término escrituralidad nos
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referimos a lo característico de lo escrito (Oesterreicher, 1996). Estos conceptos no deben
ser vistos como tautologías, ni mucho menos como definiciones dicotómicas, sino como
rasgos independientes del medio o canal por medio del cual se producen y difunden los
textos.
Esta nueva corriente de investigación ha abordado, sin embargo, con relativa poca
intensidad un tema que en nuestra carrera nos interesa sobre manera: el de la producción
textual de los estudiantes de una lengua extranjera, pues la mayoría de los estudios sobre
este tema han sido hechos con base en textos producidos por hablantes nativos en su
primera lengua. Algunos estudiosos han tratado la producción textual de esta clase de
estudiante (Kaiser, 2002; Ventola, 1997), pero, a pesar de que han enfatizado la falta de
competencia lingüística y académica de los estudiantes, han dejado un tanto de lado la
idea de que esta falta de competencia se relaciona estrechamente con el medio con el que
se produce el texto, la situación en que se produce y la concepción con que los
estudiantes abordan la producción de los mismos. Es por ello que se hace imperativo
profundizar en la investigación sobre la relación entre los diversos continuos textuales y
la producción de los textos, si queremos mejorar nuestros conocimientos sobre el
quehacer textual de los estudiantes de una lengua extranjera.
Con el fin de estudiar esta clase de producción textual hemos tomado como objeto
de análisis un grupo de ensayos escritos en inglés por estudiantes de inglés como lengua
extranjera, para construir un continuo que dé cuenta del perfil concepcional de los textos
y del polo (inmediatez-distancia comunicativa) para el que los estudiantes producen sus
textos. Con perfil concepcional nos referimos aquí a la idea subyacente a los enunciados
de un texto e independiente de los modos de verbalización de un texto (entiéndase gráfico
o fónico) que influyen y determinan las diversas tradiciones discursivas o tipos de texto.
Hemos abordado esta clase de estudio descriptivo y cualitativo por dos razones.
La primera tiene que ver con nuestra experiencia, como estudiantes de una lengua
extranjera, en la producción de textos escritos en alemán y en inglés, y las dificultades
que afrontamos como estudiantes cuando nos vemos en la obligación de redactar un texto
relativamente largo en un idioma que estamos aprendiendo. La segunda, más bien de
carácter teórico, tiene que ver con la necesidad que sentimos de abordar este tema desde
una óptica distinta a la tradicional. Bien sabemos que un libro de gramática no es la
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panacea para las dificultades cuando producimos un texto escrito, así como también
sabemos que un manual de estilo no nos allana lo suficientemente el camino para
emprender con seguridad la escritura de un texto como un ensayo, por ejemplo, que
debemos escribir desde el tercer año hasta el final de nuestra carrera.
El trabajo está organizado en cinco capítulos: el Capítulo I se dedica al
planteamiento del problema, el Capítulo II al marco teórico que nos sirve de base, el
Capítulo III al marco metodológico, el Capítulo IV al análisis de los resultados y
finalmente, el Capítulo V a las conclusiones.
Nos interesa averiguar: ¿Cómo escriben los estudiantes de inglés como lengua
extranjera en nuestra Escuela?, si ¿existen rasgos de oralidad y escrituralidad en su
producción textual? Y de haberlos, ¿cuáles son esos rasgos?, ¿cómo se manifiestan en sus
textos?, y finalmente, ¿cómo se ubican estos textos producidos por estudiantes en el
continuo oralidad-escrituralidad?
Es necesario destacar que nuestro trabajo de investigación, como intento de
elaboración de un análisis lingüístico de los rasgos de oralidad y escrituralidad en una
muestra de estudiantes de nuestra Escuela, no pretende ser una investigación teórica sobre
las razones por las que los estudiantes usan ciertos rasgos o cometen determinados
errores. Con esta investigación queremos aportar una descripción de la producción textual
de los estudiantes de nuestra Escuela, que en un futuro podría servir de modelo para
análisis similares en otras lenguas, y sobretodo, podría servir como base para cambios
necesarios tanto en la Escuela como en los métodos de estudio de los estudiantes, todo
ello con el fin de mejorar nuestro quehacer académico.
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Capítulo I
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I EL PROBLEMA
1.1. PLANTEAMIENTO DEL PROBLEMA:
Son numerosos y extensos los estudios dedicados a los modos de realización del
discurso oral y escrito. Hasta los años sesenta, el criterio de corrección en el uso de la
lengua correspondía a las normas de la lengua escrita, y se tomaba incluso como modelo
la escritura de los “grandes autores”. A partir de esa época, el interés interdisciplinario
que despertó el estudio de las modalidades oral y escrita ha dejado como resultado una
caracterización detallada y profusa de ambas modalidades, que en un principio eran vistas
como los polos de una dicotomía bien marcada entre ambos modos de realización
lingüística diferenciadas no sólo en cuanto a su realización física (fónica y gráfica), sino
también, y muy especialmente, en sus estructuras y formas (Goedele, 2000; Akinnaso,
1985). Más recientemente muchos estudiosos han intentado entender lo oral y lo escrito
no como polos opuestos, sino como límites o variantes en un continuo entre los cuales
encontramos innumerables textos que difieren en su forma y estructura según la situación
comunicativa y la finalidad del acto comunicativo, a este cambio de perspectiva se debe
que haya perdido vigencia la idea de supremacía de una modalidad sobre otra (Ong,
1994). De esta manera se ha dejado atrás la costumbre de asociar directamente a una
modalidad, la escrita, con la cultura y de considerar a la otra, la oral, como popular, y por
ende, inferior cuando no defectuosa. En la actualidad, se habla más bien de continuos,
cuyas marcas lingüísticas se manifiestan en los textos, permitiendo así caracterizarlos no
en términos valorativos de correcto o incorrecto, culto o no culto, sino según su
adecuación a la situación comunicativa y al objetivo que se persigue. Se habla entonces
de continuos de formalidad-informalidad, compromiso-distanciamiento, planificación-no
planificación, oralidad-escrituralidad.
Entre los muchos estudios realizados sobre la oralidad y la escrituralidad, son
más bien escasos los referidos a cómo estos rasgos se hacen presentes en la producción
verbal de los estudiantes de una lengua extranjera. Es una verdad ya sabida que la
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modalidad oral es primaria e inherente a la naturaleza del hombre y que por tanto el
dominio de la modalidad oral se hace más fácil, que el dominio de la modalidad escrita, y
que este hecho conlleva que, en general, y al menos en las etapas iniciales del aprendizaje
de la escritura de una lengua, - sobre todo en el caso de la materna, pero también en la
lengua extranjera- se tienda a escribir tal y como se habla. En el caso de los estudiantes
de una lengua extranjera este hecho, aparentemente tan claro, adquiere una importancia
significativamente diferente.
En un nivel intermedio de aprendizaje se espera que el estudiante de una lengua
extranjera sea capaz de expresarse correctamente en ambas modalidades de realización
verbal, lo cual implica no sólo el uso correcto de la gramática del idioma, sino también
que adapte su registro a la situación comunicativa. Un estudiante de una segunda lengua
al estar inmerso en la cultura puede corregir paulatinamente los errores que comete, y en
el caso de la oralidad y escrituralidad es de suponer que aprenderá poco a poco a ajustar
su uso a la situación comunicativa. Pero el estudiante de una lengua extranjera se
encuentra inevitablemente expuesto a la lengua de estudio en un grado mucho menor, lo
cual se traduce en que la corrección de los errores y la adecuación de su discurso a la
situación comunicativa será mucho menos exitosa y en muchos casos mucho más lenta.
Tal como se afirmó antes, hoy en día se evita usar términos valorativos y asociar formal
con escrito e informal con oral, o considerar como errores los rasgos que caracterizan
prototípicamente a una u otra modalidad. Todo lo anterior se aplica perfectamente al caso
del uso de la segunda lengua, pero en el caso particular de un estudiante de una lengua
extranjera la presencia profusa de rasgos propios de la modalidad oral que de la escrita, es
considerado a menudo como un error, que podría automáticamente atribuirse a la falta de
conocimiento del idioma, lo cual incide en la calificación y presentación final de una
asignación o ensayo pedido en clase. Cabría preguntarse entonces: ¿Existen rasgos de
oralidad y escrituralidad en los textos escritos de los estudiantes? ¿Cuáles son esos
rasgos? ¿Cómo se manifiestan?
De estas interrogantes surge nuestro objeto de
investigación: identificar qué rasgos de oralidad y escrituralidad se encuentran presentes
en los ensayos de los estudiantes de una lengua extranjera, a fin de ubicar estos ensayos
en los continuos de inmediatez y distancia comunicativa, y de oralidad y escrituralidad.
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1.2 JUSTIFICACIÓN
Una investigación como la que se plantea permitirá indagar sobre el uso que los
estudiantes de la Escuela de Idiomas Modernos hacen de la lengua extranjera, no desde
una perspectiva tradicional según la cual se identificarían simplemente los “errores” que
el estudiante comete en gramática, sino desde un punto de vista diferente: el del análisis
del discurso, que nos permite estudiar la producción textual de estos individuos en sus
contextos. Todo ello con el fin de establecer qué rasgos caracterizan la escritura de estos
estudiantes y ubicar la producción textual de estos individuos en los continuos de
realización textual. Por otro lado, investigar la producción textual de los estudiantes de
una lengua extranjera constituye un enfoque novedoso en el análisis del discurso, que en
un futuro podría traducirse en la identificación y propuesta de estrategias para mejorar el
desempeño profesional de los estudiantes de la Escuela, sobre todo si tomamos en cuenta
que el estudio del análisis del discurso se ha centrado principalmente en el análisis de
textos prototípicos producidos por hablantes de la lengua materna, y por lo tanto, hacen
falta contribuciones a la enseñanza de la lengua extranjera.
1.3 OBJETIVOS DE LA INVESTIGACIÓN
Objetivo General
1. Analizar lingüísticamente los rasgos de oralidad y escrituralidad de los ensayos
escritos en inglés por los estudiantes de tercer año de inglés como lengua
extranjera de la Escuela de Idiomas Modernos.
Objetivos específicos
1. Identificar
los
rasgos
lingüísticos
de
planificación,
compromiso
y
distanciamiento, formalidad e informalidad en los ensayos de los estudiantes.
2. Ubicar los ensayos de los estudiantes en los continuos de planificación-no
planificación,
compromiso-distanciamiento,
formalidad-informalidad,
inmediatez-distancia comunicativa.
3. Ubicar los ensayos en un continuo de oralidad y escrituralidad.
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1.4 LÍMITES Y ALCANCES DE LA INVESTIGACIÓN
La presente investigación es fundamentalmente descriptiva. Por lo tanto, quedan
fuera de nuestro análisis la indagación sobre las causas del uso de los rasgos de oralidad
en los ensayos escritos por los estudiantes o la formulación de postulados teóricos sobre
la relación que podría existir entre el hecho de que son estudiantes de una lengua
extranjera y su producción escrita. La presente investigación tan sólo pretende estudiar un
tipo de texto que todo estudiante de la Escuela de Idiomas Modernos debe escribir
siguiendo un mínimo de reglas para su realización. El fin que se persigue es estudiar los
ensayos escritos por los estudiantes desde la perspectiva del análisis del discurso, para así
poder describir y caracterizar cómo escriben nuestros estudiantes y determinar qué rasgos
propios de la oralidad y escrituralidad usan en sus ensayos. Por consiguiente no se
pretende hacer un análisis de errores, ni indagar sobre las causas y consecuencias
psicolingüísticas y sociolingüísticas por las que estos estudiantes usan ciertos rasgos
lingüísticos. Por qué usan unos rasgos más que otros o explicar específicamente en qué
casos se usan, son objetivos que quedarían fuera de nuestro campo de investigación, pues
entonces dejaría de ser del tipo descriptivo para convertirse en una investigación
fundamentalmente explicativa y experimental. Sin embargo, cabe agregar que para poder
realizar esa clase de estudio explicativo es necesario en primer lugar describir y
caracterizar los escritos de los estudiantes, para luego acudir a los teóricos de la
sociolingüística, pragmática y lingüística aplicada. En otras palabras, y desde esta
perspectiva, nuestra investigación podría ser vista como el primer paso de una
investigación más profunda sobre la producción textual de los estudiantes de una lengua
extranjera.
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Capítulo II
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II MARCO TEÓRICO
2.1 Antecedentes de la investigación
Con el fin de encontrar una línea de investigación ligada a nuestro campo de
estudio, enfocamos nuestra búsqueda en investigaciones relacionadas con alguno de los
tres aspectos siguientes: primero, el estudio y la enseñanza del inglés con fines
académicos; segundo, la investigación sobre la producción textual de estudiantes de una
lengua extranjera; y tercero, la investigación de la oralidad y la escrituralidad en el
análisis del discurso.
En lo que se refiere al estudio y enseñanza del inglés con fines académicos (en
inglés EAP o English for Academic Purposes), encontramos dos libros sobre el uso del
inglés en dicho ámbito y sobre la investigación y la enseñanza del inglés con fines
académicos.
En el primero, “Genre Analysis. English in academic and research settings”,
Swales (1990) estudia la estructura de los textos académicos, el papel del inglés en la
investigación académica así como la enseñanza del inglés, a partir del análisis de diversos
artículos de investigación escritos en dicho idioma. Cabe destacar que en este libro el
autor señala que se debe ayudar a los estudiantes a reconocer la estructura de los textos
académicos, para que así puedan entender cómo funcionan y en consecuencia logren
utilizar y adaptar dicho esquema a su propia producción textual. Swales (1986) ha
estudiado también otro aspecto importante en el quehacer académico, tal como la
inclusión del conocimiento ajeno en los textos.
En el segundo libro consultado, Jordan (1997) resume su experiencia de 21 años
como profesor de inglés, con el propósito de ofrecer paso a paso una guía razonable y
directa sobre la enseñanza del inglés con fines académicos. Para este autor EAP se refiere
al uso de las habilidades en el idioma inglés que son requeridas con fines de estudio en
los sistemas de educación formal. El objeto principal del autor en dicho libro es lograr
que los estudiantes aprendan de la manera más eficiente posible el manejo de estas
habilidades y herramientas. Para lograr este objetivo, Jordan define en primer lugar lo que
es EAP y las habilidades que son necesarias para dominarlo. Luego hace una evaluación
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de las dificultades que en general tienen los estudiantes en el ámbito académico, y con
base en dichas dificultades, diseña un plan de estudio y prácticas para el manejo del
inglés con fines académicos. Su estudio es realmente profundo, ya que no sólo incluye las
habilidades, podríamos decir tradicionales, que se espera que todos los estudiantes deben
dominar (lectura, escritura y desarrollo del vocabulario), sino que además incluye otras
habilidades que a menudo son ignoradas o tratadas superficialmente, como son la toma de
notas, la preparación de exposiciones y la preparación para presentar exámenes, así como
también el uso de libros y diversas fuentes de referencia, y el desarrollo de técnicas de
investigación. Finalmente, el autor caracteriza el discurso académico y su estilo,
especialmente en lo que se refiere al registro, género y uso apropiado del léxico.
La relación de los dos trabajos antes mencionados con nuestra investigación,
radica en que estudian el uso del idioma inglés en el ámbito académico en diversas
actividades y a diversos niveles, entre los cuales se incluye la escritura académica, que es
lo que nos ocupa. En este sentido, Grabe y Kaplan (1999) nos ofrecen un aporte
importante para nuestro estudio, ya que estos autores analizan la enseñanza del inglés en
los niveles básico, intermedio y avanzado, para estudiantes del inglés que son nativos, y
que lo estudian como una lengua extranjera, entre otros.
En cuanto a la investigación sobre la producción textual de estudiantes de una
lengua extranjera, encontramos tres trabajos que tratan sobre la escritura de estudiantes
universitarios.
Encontramos, en primer lugar, un estudio que se relaciona estrechamente con
nuestra investigación, dado que en el mismo se evalúa en líneas generales el aprendizaje
del idioma inglés en la Escuela de Idiomas Modernos. En la memoria “La enseñanza del
inglés en el ciclo común de la Escuela de Idioma Modernos (referencia especial a la
lengua escrita)”, Brito (1977) resume su experiencia durante el período de capacitación
docente para instructores de inglés de la EIM durante el primer semestre del año 1977. Lo
interesante de este trabajo es que se elabora un diagnóstico sobre el nivel de producción
lingüística que tenían los estudiantes de la Escuela, como ya se dijo, con especial énfasis
en la lengua escrita. Dicho diagnóstico lo elabora la autora en sus conclusiones como
sigue:
22
“Los estudiantes de inglés del ciclo común de la escuela, tal
y como lo demuestra el análisis presentado en este capítulo de la
memoria, son incapaces de expresarse correctamente en forma escrita.
Esta situación se debe, indudablemente, al hecho de que los cursos de
idioma inglés no incluyen la enseñanza sistematizada de la escritura.
Pensamos que sólo la acción pedagógica de planificación y desarrollo
de programas para la enseñanza efectiva de la escritura intensiva, nos
permitirá lograr que nuestros estudiantes se capaciten realmente en el
manejo de la lengua escrita”.
Brito, 1977
Kaiser (1997, 2002) se ocupa de la producción textual de los estudiantes en dos
estudios. En “Wege zum wissenschaftlichen Schreiben. Eine kontrastive Untersuchung zu
studentischen Texten aus Venezuela und Deutschland” (Hacia la escritura científica. Un
estudio contrastivo de textos estudiantiles de Venezuela y Alemania), Kaiser (2002) da
cuenta del análisis textual contrastivo que realizó con base en un corpus de 133 trabajos
escritos por estudiantes universitarios en el área de la filología de las lenguas extranjeras
y de los idiomas modernos en general. Dichos trabajos fueron redactados en la lengua
materna de los estudiantes. La autora busca poner en evidencia qué rasgos diferencian la
escritura de los textos académicos de estudiantes universitarios alemanes y venezolanos,
específicamente en lo que se refiere al uso de la deixis de autor, toma de posición por
parte del autor y la relación entre el conocimiento ajeno y propio en el texto. Kaiser llega
fundamentalmente a la conclusión de que en los textos alemanes predomina el estilo
objetivo o impersonal, mientras que en los venezolanos predomina el subjetivo y
personal. Cabe destacar que en nuestra investigación también estudiaremos las deixis y
toma de posición del autor, pero en nuestro caso la relacionaremos específicamente con el
distanciamiento y compromiso del autor con su texto y con la audiencia.
En el segundo, “Aspectos metacognoscitivos en el proceso de escribir y sus
consecuencias para la enseñanza de idiomas extranjeros”, Kaiser (1997) centra su
atención en los problemas metacognoscitivos que surgen al producir un texto en una
lengua extranjera. Con el término metacognición, la autora se refiere a los conocimientos
que van más allá de la cognición o de lo referido al conocimiento (gramatical, sintáctico,
fonético) del idioma en sí. Es decir, lo relacionado con la capacidad de establecer
23
objetivos, planificar el trabajo para lograr dichos objetivos y el autocontrol de las
acciones del individuo en la actividad que realiza. En el campo de las lenguas extranjeras,
específicamente en la producción escrita, dichas dificultades se traducen en el
desconocimiento de las convenciones textuales y las diferencias interculturales de los
géneros discursivos. Estas dificultades se ven además agravadas por las insuficiencias del
idioma. Para Kaiser, finalmente, es necesario y muy importante sensibilizar al estudiante
sobre el proceso de la escritura, especialmente en lo que se refiere a la función
comunicativa de cada texto, las diferencias y similitudes entre su lengua materna y la
segunda lengua, y en lo que se refiere a la estructura de los textos, así como también a la
planificación necesaria para producirlos.
En el tercer trabajo encontrado, “La escritura académica: análisis texto
lingüístico”, Ventola (1997) se ocupa de los elementos esenciales que deben estar
presentes y deben ser utilizados correctamente en un texto, para que éste resulte adecuado
en su contexto social, cultural y lingüístico. Para la autora dichos elementos son: la
referencia, los patrones textuales de tema y rema, el uso de conectores para organizar el
discurso y la condensación o integración de información en frases nominales. La autora
estudia además el uso del registro y la presencia de la intertextualidad en el texto.
Ventola analiza todos estos aspectos por medio de un texto académico escrito por una
estudiante universitaria de una segunda lengua. Ella concluye que la superación de estos
aspectos problemáticos se lograría por medio de la “socialización” en el mundo
académico, la cual se traduce en el “fogueo” del estudiante en el quehacer académico,
con mucha práctica y con el apoyo de un especialista. Una vez superadas
dichas
dificultades, afirma Ventola, los textos mostraran más coherencia y se asemejarán más a
los diversos géneros textuales que los estudiantes deben manejar.
Otro antecedente de nuestra investigación lo constituyen los trabajos del alemán
Wulf Oesterreicher sobre la relación entre la concepción de los textos, el medio en que se
producen los textos y la competencia de sus autores. Nos referimos a sus trabajos: “Lo
hablado
en
lo
escrito.
Reflexiones
metodológicas
y
aproximación
a
una
tipología.”(1996b) y “ El español en textos escritos por semicultos. Competencia escrita
de impronta oral en la historiografía indiana”(1994).
24
En ambos trabajos Oesterreicher se adentra en la tensa relación que se da entre la
competencia lingüística de los autores de los textos y los textos escritos, en especial cómo
se manifiestan los rasgos propios de la oralidad en los textos escritos. La relación entre
sus investigaciones y la nuestra es, como se puede observar, muy estrecha, pues nuestro
trabajo es en cierto modo una aplicación de su modelo de análisis. Trabajamos con textos
escritos y buscamos rasgos de oralidad, aunque también de escrituralidad, que den cuenta
del polo (inmediatez-distancia comunicativa) para el que fue concebido el texto.
Finalmente, cabe destacar que en esta misma línea ne investigación encontramos
trabajos en curso que también abordan el tema de la oralidad y escrituralidad con
categorías similares a las nuestras, pero usando como corpus textos orales (Larrauri,
2003)
2.2 Bases teóricas del estudio
El enfoque teórico en el que se basará nuestra investigación es el del análisis del
discurso, según el cual el discurso es una práctica social, una forma de acción entre las
personas que se construye a partir del uso lingüístico contextualizado, ya sea oral o
escrito (Calsamiglia y Tusón,1999:15). En este sentido, es nuestra obligación tomar en
cuenta el contexto situacional en que se produjeron los textos a estudiar. Sin embargo,
nuestro objetivo principal es describir un tipo de texto escrito a través de marcas
lingüísticas concretas, para posteriormente ubicarlos en los continuos de realización
textual.
Como ya fue señalado anteriormente son muchos los estudios realizados sobre el
discurso oral y escrito. La mayoría de estos estudios se han dedicado a identificar y
describir las características de estas modalidades discursivas en situaciones prototípicas.
Es así como se tiende a analizar la conversación cara a cara, forma prototípica del
discurso oral, y el artículo académico como forma prototípica del discurso escrito
(Chafe,1985; Akinnaso,1985). De estos estudios se desprenden descripciones detalladas
de las modalidades oral y escrita, que van más allá de la diferenciación física o medial,
entiéndase escrito/oral y gráfico / fónico, y que se ocupan de la descripción formal y
contextual de ambas modalidades. Calsamiglia y Tusón (1999), señalan como
25
características prototípicas del discurso oral la presencia, interacción y alternabilidad de
los interlocutores, mientras que en el discurso escrito los interlocutores no comparten el
tiempo ni el espacio de comunicación. De igual manera son consideradas como
características formales y prototípicas del discurso oral: la espontaneidad, la
improvisación, la fragmentación, la falta de planificación, la expresividad, el compromiso
y la cooperación; y del escrito: la planificación, la integración, la corrección, el alto grado
de elaboración, de distanciamiento y de complejidad (Goedele De Sterck, 2000; Erlich y
Asratian, 2000, 2001). También se toma como inherente o propio del discurso oral el
registro informal o coloquial y del escrito el literario formal (Chafe, 1985). Hay que
señalar sin embargo, que muchos de estos autores observan que han estudiado textos
prototípicos y que por tanto sus estudios caracterizan a textos modelo y que en otros tipos
de texto las características podrían cambiar.
Sólo más recientemente se ha ampliado la perspectiva de estudio de los textos y
con ello el alcance de los temas de estudio. Para el lingüista Halliday (1987) la relación
entre los textos orales y escritos es compleja, ya que para él escrito-hablado no es una
simple dicotomía, hay muchos tipos intermedios y mezclados de textos, cuyas formas se
encuentran codificadas y son a la vez producto de factores estilísticos y de elección
personal. Según Halliday nos movemos simplemente en un continuo entre dos polos: lo
hablado y lo escrito. Un aporte muy significativo en la teoría de los textos orales y
escritos es el de los alemanes Koch y Oesterreicher (1994, 1996) sobre la oralidad y
escrituralidad concepcional u oralidad y escrituralidad en la concepción del texto 1
(Mündlichkeit und konzeptionelle Schriftlichkeit). Para ellos los textos se insertan en un
continuo en cuyos polos se encuentran la oralidad y la escrituralidad en la concepción,
entendidos éstos no como modos de realización dependientes de la realización fónica o
gráfica, sino dependientes de la concepción del texto y del momento de la concepción, es
decir, se trata de saber si un texto ha sido concebido o pensado para la inmediatez
comunicativa, que coincide con el discurso oral, o para la distancia comunicativa que
coincide con el texto escrito. Según esta perspectiva, un acto jurídico o artículo científico
son exponentes prototípicos de la distancia comunicativa y de la escrituralidad
1
En adelante hablaremos de oralidad y escrituralidad concepcional u oralidad y escrituralidad en la concepción del texto para
referirnos a los términos usados por Oesterreicher en alemán “Mündlichkeit und konzeptionelle Schriftlichkeit” (Oesterreicher, 1994)
y que el mismo traduce como oralidad y escrituralidad concepcional u oralidad y escrituralidad en la concepción del texto en sus
diversas investigaciones en español (1994, 1996).
26
concepcional, mientras que una conversación cara a cara o telefónica son también
expresiones prototípicas de la inmediatez y de la oralidad concepcional. De igual forma,
encontramos textos escritos cuya concepción coincide con la inmediatez comunicativa,
como por ejemplo una carta o un correo electrónico, y textos orales cuya concepción
coincide con la distancia comunicativa, por ejemplo una ponencia académica.
La mayoría de los autores antes nombrados ha tratado de sistematizar la relación
existente entre las modalidades discursivas oral y escrita identificando las marcas
lingüísticas que caracterizan a diversos tipos de texto en situaciones prototípicas en el
idioma inglés. Por ejemplo, Chafe (1987) analiza cuatro tipos de texto: cartas,
conversaciones cara a cara, ponencias académicas y ensayos académicos. Halliday (1987)
analiza muestras de textos orales extraídas de sus clases de entonación para estudiantes
extranjeros, en las que los estudiantes debían narrar alguna experiencia pasada.
Posteriormente Halliday procedía a re-expresar esas narraciones como si hubieran sido
expresadas originalmente en forma escrita. Tannen (1987) analiza las diferencias en el
discurso narrativo oral de un grupo de mujeres griegas y norteamericanas, a la vez que
analiza el discurso narrativo en conversaciones llevadas a cabo por ejemplo durante una
cena. Beaman (1987), estudia también el discurso narrativo pero esta vez con base en la
narración de una película, primero en forma oral y luego escrita.
Dado que en nuestro estudio pretendemos analizar textos escritos en inglés,
utilizaremos las marcas halladas por estos autores como guía para nuestra investigación
aunque el basamento teórico se desprende de las investigaciones de Oesterreicher. De
forma inversa, hemos usado como guía algunos aspectos de los trabajos de Antonio Briz
Gómez sobre el español coloquial, quien nos ofrece en sus diversos trabajos valiosos
aportes teóricos sobre la relación entre los textos orales y escritos (Briz, 2000)
La noción de discurso que maneja Wulf Oesterreicher nos parece ideal para
referirnos al tipo de texto que nos ocupa:
"... El discurso, sin embargo, no sólo es manifestación o
actualización de la actividad del hablar mediante reglas y normas
de una lengua, sino que al mismo tiempo - y este punto se olvida
muy a menudo- es siempre realización de modelos textuales, de
modelos discursivos, o, en la terminología aquí adoptada, de
tradiciones discursivas.... En el hablar seguimos, pues, modelos
discursivos que necesariamente determinan aspectos de la forma y
del contenido de los discursos concretos. En este sentido, la
producción y la comprensión de los enunciados dependen no sólo
27
de la actividad del hablar y del conocimiento de la lengua, sino
también del conocimiento de las tradiciones discursivas. En otras
palabras, el saber idiomático no es suficiente para producir y
comprender enunciados de diferentes tipos"
Oesterreicher,1996a:1
Esta noción de discurso nos sirve de base para el análisis a realizar, pues estamos
estudiando textos en los que se le asignan tareas a los estudiantes y el cumplimiento de
estas tareas implica la actualización del hablar, en este caso una lengua extranjera que es
el inglés, a la vez que implica la realización del modelo discursivo que nos ocupa: el
ensayo. Nos interesa también su referencia al saber idiomático, pues los autores de los
ensayos se encuentran en la transición de un nivel de conocimientos intermedio a uno
avanzado.
Para Oesterreicher " Los discursos definidos por la inmediatez comunicativa
presentan, regularmente, un carácter provisional, que sigue conteniendo y reflejando el
proceso de la producción discursiva. En lo inmediato, las estrategias de formulación
conducen, por el uso abundante de los contextos, a una verbalización a veces muy
reducida y económica. Encontramos una preferencia por procedimientos agregativos.
Pero al mismo tiempo, por la falta de planificación, por la espontaneidad y
emocionalidad, se producen vacilaciones, saltos, redundancias y repeticiones, precisiones
sucesivas, etc." (Oesterreicher, 1996a: 9). Y "Los discursos que pertenecen a la distancia
comunicativa, en cambio, normalmente no conllevan huellas del proceso de formulación;
tienden por definición al 'discurso objeto', al texto definitivo... En estos discursos, la
densidad de la información y la progresión semántica son maximizadas gracias a una
verbalización compacta e intensiva que produce unidades lingüísticas integrativas y
complejas. Se comprende fácilmente que esta forma de la comunicación tenga una
afinidad natural a los cánones de la lengua escrita, a la norma prescriptiva, a la escritura"
(Oesterreicher, 1996a:10)
Lo significativo, a nuestro parecer, es que esta teoría no habla en términos
absolutos o de características invariables según el tipo de texto, sino que se habla más
bien de marcas, señales de la concepción en los diversos tipos de texto: "Lo que importa
aquí es el hecho de que lo hablado, o la inmediatez comunicativa, presenta una afinidad
con la realización fónica pasajera y lo escrito, o la distancia comunicativa a su vez con la
realización gráfica perdurable."(Oesterreicher, 1996b:319)
28
Koch y Oesterreicher (1994, 1996) abordan la distinción entre lo oral y lo escrito,
o como ya se dijo, la distinción entre oralidad y escritura en la concepción desde una
perspectiva diferente. Para estos investigadores los textos se insertan en una escala o un
continuo delimitado por dos extremos llamados inmediatez y distancia comunicativa. La
ubicación de los textos en este continuo depende de algunos parámetros que se refieren a
determinadas condiciones de comunicación que son de naturaleza extralingüística, y que
además son universalmente válidos. A continuación señalamos los parámetros que según
Oesterreicher rigen las condiciones de la comunicación; dichos parámetros se desprenden
de sus investigaciones sobre el discurso a través de textos escritos en diferentes épocas:
1. El grado de privacidad del discurso: se define por el número de interlocutores y
la existencia y tipo de público.
2. El grado de intimidad de los interlocutores: depende de la intimidad o
desconocimiento de los interlocutores, y tiene que ver con el conocimiento mutuo
y saber compartido de los mismos.
3. Grado de emotividad y participación emocional de los interlocutores: el grado
de participación emocional puede referirse al interlocutor o al tema.
4. Grado de inserción o integración del contexto situacional y de acción: este
parámetro tiene que ver con la relación entre las palabras y las acciones que
realizan los interlocutores. La inserción es máxima por ejemplo cuando un médico
opera y pide una tijera, y es mínima por ejemplo en un texto jurídico, en tanto se
refiere a sujetos abstractos y a situaciones “hipotéticas”.
5. Tipo de referencia: Se refiere al grado de proximidad o distancia entre el locutor
y las personas y objetos nombrados en su discurso, en otras palabras se refiere al
“aquí” y “ahora” del autor.
6. La posición local y temporal: este parámetro especifica el tipo de contacto entre
los interlocutores. Es decir, si la comunicación se hace in praesentia o cara a cara,
o si por el contrario ocurre in absentia, es decir, el interlocutor recibe el texto en
forma diferida, con lo que el momento y lugar de la escritura no coinciden
necesariamente con los de la lectura.
29
7. Grado de cooperación: este parámetro se refiere al papel que juega el receptor
en la construcción de los enunciados. Por ejemplo, si responde a las preguntas
hechas por el interlocutor o si es capaz de aprehender el contexto de un texto
escrito y por lo tanto logra comprenderlo, en un texto oral tendría que ver este
parámetro también con la cooperación que se manifiesta por medio de miradas,
gestos, la posición del cuerpo, entre otros.
8. Dialogicidad: La dialogicidad se define
por la frecuencia con que los
interlocutores asumen el papel de emisor en un texto. Tendremos una
comunicación
dialogada
y
simétrica
cuando
se
alternen
los
roles
espontáneamente, por ejemplo en una conversación familiar, y tendremos una
comunicación monologal y asimétrica cuando un sólo sujeto asume el papel de
locutor, por ejemplo durante la lectura de una sentencia en un tribunal, sólo el
juez tiene la palabra.
9. Grado de espontaneidad: se define por el nivel de libertad de participación con
el que los interlocutores se expresan. Tiene que ver con el grado de formalidad o
de informalidad del evento comunicativo.
10. Fijación y determinación del tema: tiene que ver por un lado,
con el
seguimiento o continuo cambio de tema en una comunicación, y por otro con la
obligatoriedad o no de la determinación y seguimiento del tema según el evento
comunicativo. En una conversación entre amigos puede cambiar varias veces el
tema de la comunicación, sin embargo en una ponencia científica, por ejemplo, es
más bien obligatorio mantener un tema específico.
Según el grado en que se materialicen estas condiciones de comunicación un
discurso podrá ser ubicado con mayor o menor proximidad a los polos de inmediatez o de
distancia comunicativa. Oesterreicher señala además que los textos producidos en la
inmediatez comunicativa tienen mayor afinidad con lo oral, o con la realización fónica
pasajera, y que la distancia comunicativa tiene mayor afinidad con lo escrito, es decir
con la realización gráfica perdurable. Sin embargo, no descarta, sino que más bien hace
especial énfasis en los textos híbridos o inversos, es decir, en los textos que combinan la
30
concepción hablada con el medio gráfico y la escrita con el fónico, como por ejemplo en
una carta a un familiar o en una conferencia.
Estos parámetros son escalares y las condiciones de comunicación se
traducen o se manifiestan en los textos en forma de estrategias lingüísticas o
discursivas, como por ejemplo: la planificación, la elaboración sintáctica, el nivel
léxico, la estructura del texto y el desarrollo del tema entre muchas otras. Al
aplicar estos parámetros a un texto se puede visualizar un perfil concepcional del
texto así como de la tradición discursiva o del tipo de texto al que pertenece. La
razón de ello es que: "Las diferentes condiciones de comunicación conllevan
ciertas estrategias discursivas como por ejemplo, grados de planificación, de
elaboración sintáctica, diversos tipos de progresión semántica, etc., e implican
determinadas regulaciones programáticas del discurso” (Oesterreicher, 1996b:
319). En otras palabras es por medio de la identificación de esas señales que
podemos reconstruir las condiciones de comunicación, por un lado, y la
concepción subyacente o el perfil concepcional de los textos analizados, por
otro.
Una representación gráfica y esquemática de lo anteriormente expuesto
nos permitirá aclarar estas nociones:
Gráfico 1: Representación esquemática de las formas de expresión y su oralidad y escrituralidad medial y concepcional
gráfico
Oralidad en la concepción
(inmediatez comunicativa)
c
a
b
e
d
h
f
i
g
Escrituralidad en la concepción
(distancia comunicativa)
fónico
(Tomado de Oesterreicher 1994:588)
En la parte superior del gráfico se ordenan los textos escritos y en la inferior los
orales. De izquierda a derecha se insertan los textos en la parte superior o inferior según
el medio y según la concepción sea para la inmediatez o distancia comunicativa:
a) Conversación familiar
b) Conversación telefónica
c) Carta privada
d) Entrevista (trabajo)
e) Entrevista publicada en un diario
31
f) Sermón
g) Ponencia académica
h) Artículo de fondo
i) Texto legal
De todo lo anterior se desprende que nos servirán de basamento teórico las
investigaciones sobre la planificación y la no planificación, la
formalidad e
informalidad, el distanciamiento y el compromiso en los textos, a fin de recolectar la
evidencia lingüística que da cuenta de estos rasgos en nuestro corpus, todo ello con el fin
de ubicar en los continuos de inmediatez y distancia comunicativa los ensayos de los
estudiantes.
32
Capítulo III
33
III MARCO METODOLÓGICO
3.1 Estrategia metodológica
La investigación que hemos realizado es de tipo descriptivo y cualitativo ya que
se pretende caracterizar, describir y analizar los diversos rasgos de oralidad y
escrituralidad presentes en los ensayos recolectados. El fin último de esta investigación
es estudiar estos ensayos desde la perspectiva del análisis del discurso para descubrir qué
rasgos de oralidad ocurren en este tipo de producción textual de los estudiantes, para
poder ubicarla entonces en los continuos de formalidad-informalidad, planificación-no
planificación, compromiso-distanciamiento, inmediatez-distancia comunicativa. Nuestra
investigación tiene, además, rasgos cuantitativos, pues a fin de facilitar la comprensión y
visualización de los rasgos que caracterizan a nuestro corpus hemos recurrido a la
triangulación metodológica, que no es más que el apoyo de nuestro análisis cualitativo en
estrategias cuantitativas. Es por ello que se traducen los resultados en forma numérica,
tablas de frecuencia simple y porcentajes. En nuestra investigación especificamos en
cuántos ensayos del total analizado se encuentran presentes los rasgos señalados en las
categorías de análisis. El apoyo de la estrategia cualitativa en la cuantitativa nos permitió,
por un lado, visualizar de una forma clara la información obtenida en las matrices de
recolección de datos, y por otro, nos permitió verificar la confiabilidad de los datos
recogidos en las mismas matrices.
3.2 El corpus
El tipo de texto objeto de estudio es el ensayo. Particularmente se han analizado
ensayos escritos en inglés por estudiantes del tercer año de inglés de la Escuela de
Idiomas Modernos. La razón por la que se escogió este nivel es que los ensayos son los
primeros ejercicios largos de escritura que los estudiantes de la Escuela deben realizar, y
en el tercer año es cuando los estudiantes comienzan a ejercitarse en este tipo de
escritura. En tercer año se encuentran en un punto intermedio de su formación
34
profesional. En este nivel se supone que los estudiantes deben manejar un nivel
intermedio de las destrezas básicas del idioma y, además, deben diversificar su
producción lingüística durante dicho año, con el fin de adquirir el nivel avanzado.
Se han analizado 50 textos escritos por 10 estudiantes hablantes del español
cursantes del tercer año de inglés en la Escuela de Idiomas Modernos durante el período
académico 2001-2002. Se recogieron 5 textos por alumno sobre 5 temas diferentes
asignados de antemano por el profesor:
Cuadro 1: Temas de los ensayos por estudiante:
Número del ensayo
Tema
1
Diferencias entre Australia y Venezuela
2
Análisis de una canción interpretada en inglés
3
El amor
4
Cuentos caribeños
5
Género
Los textos fueron obtenidos con el consentimiento tanto del profesor como de los
estudiantes, quienes permitieron obtener copias de los originales ya corregidos por el
profesor. Cabe destacar que la escogencia de los 10 estudiantes no fue intencional. Los 10
estudiantes escogidos corresponden a los alumnos que escribieron y nos facilitaron todos
los ensayos en todos los temas escritos durante el año académico.
Los ensayos del corpus han sido transcritos respetando el original, es decir, se han
transcrito los textos sin corregir ningún tipo de error. Con el fin de respetar la identidad
de los autores, le hemos asignado a cada uno una letra para identificarlos : A, B, C, D, E,
F, G, H, I, J. En consecuencia cuando citamos algún ejemplo de un ensayo lo
identificamos de la siguiente forma: I think is unfair (TA5). Donde “T” significa texto,
“A” se refiere al estudiante “A” y “5” al tema del ensayo de donde se extrajo el ejemplo,
que en este caso es el tema cinco sobre género. Hemos subrayado además en cada caso el
rasgo que nos interesa en cada parte del análisis.
35
3.3 Categorías de análisis
A continuación presentamos la lista de los tópicos o categorías de análisis que nos
permitieron caracterizar los ensayos y ubicarlos en los continuos antes mencionados. La
escogencia de estas categorías la hemos hecho siguiendo las teorías propuestas por
Oesterreicher (1996:319) y tomando en cuenta las investigaciones vinculadas al tema que
nos ocupa (Kaiser, 2002a; Larrauri, 2002):
1. Planificación-no planificación: para determinar si los textos han sido
planificados o no se buscará evidencia lingüística que dé cuenta del grado de
planificación de los textos, como por ejemplo el uso de anuncios, de oraciones
que comprimen una gran cantidad de información o viceversa, y por otro lado, se
buscará si el texto está dividido explícitamente en partes o no y cuáles son. Como
base para el estudio de este tópico tomaremos los trabajos de Bolívar(en prensa),
Kaiser (en prensa) y Ochs (1979).
2. Compromiso-distanciamiento: para determinar cómo interactúa el autor del
texto con el lector y con el tema buscaremos evidencia lingüística de compromiso
y distanciamiento en lo que se refiere a la deixis personales, referencia a procesos
verbales y el uso que se hace de palabras evaluativas, si se utilizan oraciones
pasivas y si se usan sujetos abstractos o metafóricos, entre otros. Tendremos como
base en este tema los estudios de Chafe (1984, 1985, 1987) y Tannen (1984).
3. Formalidad-informalidad: este tópico de estudio se refiere al grado de
informalidad o de formalidad con que el autor se expresa en el texto. Con base en
Chafe (1984, 1985, 1987), Tannen (1987), Bolívar y Kaiser (en prensa), y
Halliday (1987, 1990) entre muchos otros, hemos decidido abordar este tópico
desde dos perspectivas: la lexical y la sintáctica. La primera nos permitirá
establecer si el vocabulario utilizado es neutral, coloquial, literario o científico, a
la vez que nos permitirá conocer si se usan muletillas o frases genéricas (Hedges).
La segunda nos permitirá dar cuenta de manera general del grado de complejidad
de las estructuras sintácticas utilizadas, especialmente en lo que respecta al uso de
algunas conjunciones coordinativas y causales, así como el uso de diversos
conectores.
36
3.4 Niveles de análisis
Nuestra investigación se desarrolla en dos niveles de análisis: el del discurso y el
léxico-gramatical. En el nivel del discurso analizamos la planificación y no planificación
de los textos. En el nivel de léxico y la gramática estudiamos el distanciamiento y
compromiso, y formalidad e informalidad en las palabras y en las cláusulas.
3.5 Unidades de análisis
En esta investigación utilizamos tres unidades de análisis. En el nivel del discurso
nuestra unidad es el texto porque debemos buscar evidencia lingüística que dé cuenta de
la estructura del texto, para establecer el grado de planificación o no-planificación.
Las dos unidades de análisis restantes son las palabras y las cláusulas, las cuales
se ubican en el nivel del léxico y de la gramática. Estas unidades nos permiten dar cuenta
de los tópicos distanciamiento y el compromiso y sobre el tópico formalidad e
informalidad. En lo que se refiere al distanciamiento y al compromiso, las señales
lingüísticas que nos permitirán medir el grado de compromiso o distanciamiento serán: en
el nivel lexical, la deixis de autor y de lector, el uso de palabras evaluativas, el uso de
pronombres neutros, de adjetivos o adverbios; y en el nivel gramatical: las cláusulas (o
construcciones)
en las que haya expresión explícita de la opinión del autor, de
sentimientos personales, uso de construcciones adverbiales de tiempo y lugar,
construcciones impersonales y uso de oraciones pasivas.
En lo que se refiere al grado de formalidad e informalidad, las señales lingüísticas
que nos permitirán identificarlo serán: a nivel léxico, el tipo de vocabulario, el uso de
muletillas, frases hechas, frases que permiten controlar el flujo de la información y
partículas enfáticas, y en el nivel gramatical, buscamos señales lingüísticas sobre el uso
de conectores causales, finales, concesivos, condicionales, consecutivos, ilativos,
adversativos, ordinales y aquellos que permiten cambiar el tema del que se habla.
3.6 Instrumentos de recolección de datos
37
La información obtenida ha sido procesada según los temas mencionados en las
categorías de análisis en matrices de recolección de datos. Esta información será
traducida posteriormente en forma de frecuencia simple.
3. 6.1 Matrices de recolección de información
A continuación presentamos el modelo de matrices de recolección de datos que se
utilizó en la investigación para identificar y clasificar la evidencia lingüística por medio
de las cuales
planificación,
ubicamos nuestro corpus en los continuos de
compromiso-distanciamiento,
planificación-no
formalidad-informalidad,
inmediatez-
distancia comunicativa.
La estructura de las matrices se basa en el modelo propuesto por Bolívar y Kaiser
(2001) en sus investigaciones sobre el discurso académico en Venezuela. Sin embargo,
las matrices allí propuestas han sido modificadas a fin de ajustarlas a nuestro objeto de
estudio con base en las investigaciones de Chafe (1984, 1985, 1987), Oesterreicher
(1994, 1996), Halliday (1984) y Tannen (1984).
1 Matrices del continuo planificación-no planificación
Con estas matrices recolectaremos evidencia lingüística que nos permitirá analizar
cómo estructuran los textos los estudiantes, para así posteriormente determinar el grado
de planificación de sus ensayos.
Matriz 1.1: Identificación y longitud del texto
Esta matriz nos permitirá identificar al autor del texto, el tema del que se trata, así
como su longitud y número de párrafos.
Estudiante
Ensayo
número
Tema
Nº
palabras
Nº oraciones
ortográficas
Texto dividido en
párrafos
Sí
No
Cuántos
párrafos
Matriz 1.2: Relación entre estructura y tarea
Con esta matriz daremos cuenta del grado en que el autor responde o se ciñe a la
asignación dada por el profesor.
38
Responde/ se ciñe a la tarea exigida
Sí
Señales
No
Matriz 1.3: Organización explícita del texto por parte del autor
Esta matriz nos permitirá detectar si el autor anuncia explícitamente cómo
organizará su texto.
Estrategia
Anuncio explícito
Comentario prospectivo
Comentario retrospectivo
Recapitulación
Reformulación
Ordena o enumera
Otros
Frecuencia
Ejemplo
2 Matrices del continuo compromiso-distanciamiento
Con estas matrices pretendemos identificar la evidencia lingüística que da cuenta
sobre la relación del autor del texto con el lector y con el tema. Buscaremos evidencia
lingüística de la deixis de autor y de lector, así como también buscaremos las marcas de
compromiso o distanciamiento del autor con el tema del texto.
2.1 Compromiso-distanciamiento del autor con su audiencia
Matriz 2.1.1: Deixis de autor y de lector
Esta matriz recoge evidencia lingüística de la deixis de autor, la cual nos permitió
medir el compromiso o distanciamiento del autor con su audiencia y cómo se manifiesta
el autor en su texto.
Deixis de autor
“I”
“We”
“One”
Deixis de lector
Otro
“you”
“people”
Imperativo
Otro
2.2 Compromiso-distanciamiento del autor con el tema
Matriz 2.2.1: Compromiso del autor con el tema
Esta matriz nos permite recoger evidencia lingüística sobre las estrategias que usa
el autor para acercarse o distanciarse del tema de su texto.
39
Estrategia
Frecuencia
Ejemplos
Palabras evaluativas
Expresión explícita de opinión
Expresión de sentimientos personales
Expresión de certeza y cautela
Referencias a experiencias personales
Construcciones adverbiales de tiempo
Construcciones adverbiales de lugar
Referencias a procesos mentales / verbales
Otros
Matriz 2.2.2: Distanciamiento del autor con el tema
Esta matriz recogerá evidencia lingüística sobre el distanciamiento del autor con
respecto al tema del texto:
Estrategia
Frecuencia
Ejemplos
Oraciones pasivas
Sujeto metafórico
Adjetivos/ adverbios para indicar probabilidad o
confiabilidad en cuanto al conocimiento
Construcciones impersonales
Pronombres neutros
Sujetos abstractos o indefinidos
Otros
3 Matrices del continuo formalidad-informalidad
Con estas matrices identificaremos la evidencia lingüística que da cuenta del grado de
formalidad e informalidad en el texto en el nivel lexical y sintáctico.
3.1: Nivel lexical
Matriz 3.1.1: Vocabulario
Con esta matriz daremos cuenta de la impresión general del vocabulario utilizado
en los ensayos. Esta impresión se completará con un análisis computarizado del léxico.
Tipo de vocabulario
Ejemplos
Observaciones
Coloquial
Neutral
Literario o científico
Cambia a menudo de estilo
Matriz 3.1.2: Muletillas o frases genéricas
40
Esta matriz nos permite identificar el uso que se hace de las muletillas en el
corpus.
Señales:
Frecuencia
Observaciones
“Sort of”
“Kind of”
“Something like”
“And so on”
Otros
Matriz 3.1.3: Frases que permiten controlar el flujo de información
En esta matriz recolectamos evidencia lingüística de las frases con las que se
controla el fluir de la información en los textos.
Señales
Frecuencia
Observaciones
“Well”
“I mean”
You know
“Anyway”
“By the way”
“Now”
“Ok”
Falsos inicios
“Let’s”
Otros
Matriz 3.1.4: Partículas enfáticas
Con esta matriz damos cuenta del uso de las palabras enfáticas en los textos de los
estudiantes
Señales
Frecuencia
Observaciones
“Just”
“Really”
Otros
3.2: Nivel sintáctico
Matriz 3.2.1: Uso de conectores ilativos y causales en posición inicial o un número considerable
de oraciones unidas de este modo
En esta matriz recogeremos el uso de conectores ilativos y causales en posición
inicial en las oraciones.
Conjunción
Frecuencia
Ejemplos
“and”
“but”
“so”
“because”
Otros
Matriz 3.2.2: Uso de conectores
En esta matriz recogemos el empleo de los diversos tipos de conectores en los textos,
con el fin de establecer cuáles tipos de conectores son usados con mayor frecuencia.
41
Tipo de conector
Frecuencia
Ejemplos
Causal
Final
Concesivo
Condicional
Ilativo / consecutivo
Adversativo
Cambio de tópico
Ordenación
Contrastivos
Otros
42
4 Matriz sobre el continuo inmediatez-distancia comunicativa
E
S
T
U
D
I
A
N
T
E
Grado de
intimidad
Incluye
experiencias
sentimientos
sí
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
T
O
T
A
L
no
Grado de
participación
emocional
Com
Distan
pro
cia
miso
miento
+
-
+
-
Tipo de referencia
Objetos
loc
Grado de espontaneidad
Tema
Personal
Deixis de
autor
temp
Grado de cooperación
Comp
Int
Deixis de
lector
Dist
Comp
Int
Dist
Se ciñe
la tarea
asignada
Sí No
Organización
Anuncios
explícitos
Sí Int No
Form
+
-
Int
Inf
+
-
Int
Form
+
-
Int
Inf
+
-
Int
Lo sigue
Li
bre
Rigu
rosa
No
lo
sigue
Esta matriz nos permitirá recoger la información referente a la situación
comunicativa en que se producen los ensayos (véase página anterior). Esta matriz se basa
en los estudios sobre el continuo inmediatez-distancia comunicativa de Oesterreicher
(1996a). En ella se recogen los datos que se desprenden de la caracterización y análisis
realizado en las matrices anteriores. Dada la naturaleza de los textos que nos ocupan,
hemos notado que algunas de las situaciones de comunicación encontradas por
Oesterreicher (1996) se encontraban definidas de antemano y por lo tanto no se han
incluido en esta matriz. A continuación referimos brevemente cuáles de estas situaciones
de comunicación no están reflejadas en la matriz anterior y cuáles sí lo están, a la vez que
explicaremos brevemente cómo se reflejan las matrices anteriores en esta última de la
situación de comunicación:
1. Grado de privacidad del discurso: Este parámetro bien puede ser definido de
antemano pues al ser ensayos escritos para ser leídos por el profesor se supone que son
públicos.
2. Grado de intimidad de los interlocutores: Se desprende de la deixis de autor
y de lector analizadas en las matrices de compromiso y distanciamiento. El grado de
intimidad será mayor si encontramos compromiso y menor si hay distanciamiento.
3. Grado de emotividad y participación emocional: Este parámetro se
desprende también de las matrices de compromiso y distanciamiento del autor con la
audiencia y sobretodo con el tema. De igual forma el compromiso denota alto grado de
emotividad y participación y el distanciamiento lo contrario.
4. Grado de inserción o implantación de la enunciación en el contexto
situacional y de actuación: El grado de inserción a nuestro parecer puede ser también
definido aquí, pues se tiende al grado mínimo de inserción, en tanto los estudiantes
expresan su opinión sobre suposiciones, hechos, artículos y por tanto visto desde el punto
de vista estricto entre relación explícita entre acciones y palabras, se tiende hacia la
inserción mínima. La perspectiva cambiaría radicalmente si nos adentráramos en este
tópico desde la perspectiva de los actos de habla y actos textuales. (Escandell, 1993;
Searle, 1969, 1975; Bolívar, 1998)
5. Tipo de referencia: este parámetro referido a la proximidad o distancia de las
personas y objetos nombrados en el discurso se deriva en nuestro caso del uso de
construcciones adverbiales de tiempo y de lugar que se incluyen también en las matrices
de compromiso y distanciamiento.
6. Posición local y temporal: en este caso el tipo de contacto es in absentia pues
es un texto escrito revisado posteriormente por el profesor y que por lo tanto se define
aquí de antemano. Sin embargo, hemos tomado en cuenta bajo este parámetro si el texto
fue producido en clase o en casa, pues como hemos expresado anteriormente, el factor
tiempo podría tener una incidencia en la producción del texto.
7. Grado de cooperación: Se desprende, a nuestro parecer, de las matrices sobre
planificación, ya que en un sentido estricto la cooperación se circunscribe a la estructura
que le da el autor a su texto para facilitar la comprensión por parte del lector. En
consecuencia, a mayor frecuencia de señales de planificación, y claro está según el tipo
de señales, será mayor el grado de planificación y viceversa.
8. Dialogicidad: Cabe resaltar con respecto a este parámetro y al anterior, que
tomando literalmente las palabras de Oesterreicher no podemos sino definir de antemano
que el tipo de dialogicidad en nuestro estudio será asimétrica y monologal, pues no hay
cambios de rol ni de turno, y en cuanto a la cooperación, se circunscribe a la planificación
y organización. No podemos dejar sin embargo de hacer referencia a los estudios de la
interacción en textos escritos, pues a pesar de que el emisor y el receptor se encuentran
separados por el tiempo y el espacio, es posible encontrar marcas o evidencias de
interacción en los textos. En otras palabras "se puede someter el texto escrito a un análisis
interaccional porque hay dos participantes: el escritor que compone el texto, y el lector
que es un constructo del escritor" (Bolívar, 1998: 106). Del mismo modo, podríamos
afirmar que hay cooperación porque hay dos participantes, uno interesado en hacerse
entender y otro en entender el mensaje. Lo único que cambia es que esta cooperación
ocurre de forma diferida.
No obstante, para los efectos de la presente investigación nos conformaremos con
enfatizar que el tipo de interacción puede ser identificado como asimétrico y monologal y
que por medio de las matrices de planificación y estructura del texto podemos obtener
información que nos da cuenta de qué tanto deja el autor permear su texto por ese
constructo de lector, y a qué estrategias recurre para mantener la relación, en este caso,
con la persona que lo va a evaluar.
45
9. Grado de espontaneidad: El nivel de libertad de participación y de
comportamiento, o en otras palabras, el grado de institucionalización o formalidad de la
comunicación lo hemos abordado en las matrices de formalidad e informalidad en el
nivel lexical y sintáctico. La informalidad denota en consecuencia mayor grado de
espontaneidad y la formalidad menor grado de espontaneidad.
10. Grado de fijación y determinación del tema: el apego o no a un tema
específico lo hemos medido por medio de la matriz sobre planificación que nos da cuenta
de qué tanto se ciñe o no el estudiante a la tarea asignada. El desapego con la tarea indica
bajo grado de fijación y el apego denota un alto grado de fijación.
46
Capítulo IV
47
IV RESULTADOS
La primera etapa de nuestro análisis consistió en identificar las señales o rasgos
lingüísticos
de
planificación-no
planificación,
compromiso-distanciamiento
y
formalidad-informalidad en los ensayos de los estudiantes. La segunda etapa de nuestro
análisis se refiere a la ubicación de los ensayos en los continuos de inmediatez y distancia
comunicativa con base en los datos recogidos, que nos permiten entonces hablar del
continuo oralidad y escrituralidad concepcional que predomina en la muestra estudiada.
En consecuencia, analizaremos en primer lugar los resultados que nos arrojaron las
matrices, luego escogeremos un grupo representativo de ensayos que nos permitirán
construir cada uno de los continuos que nos ocupan: planificación-no planificación,
compromiso-distanciamiento, formalidad-informalidad, para posteriormente llegar
continuo de inmediatez-distancia
al
comunicativa y oralidad y escrituralidad
concepcional.
Vale decir que, a pesar de estar constituido por asignaciones dadas por el profesor
de la materia, el corpus es bastante heterogéneo en cuanto a las temáticas y a la forma.
Deseamos aclarar, sin embargo, que no debe verse esto como una limitación en nuestro
análisis, sino más bien como un elemento ventajoso, ya que nuestra meta en esta
investigación es identificar los rasgos de oralidad y escrituralidad, y a partir de esos
rasgos llegar a los continuos que nos permitan ubicarlos en el continuo de oralidad y
escrituralidad en la concepción del texto. Pues justamente esa diversidad es la que nos
permite identificar los rasgos que nos interesan y que son pertinentes. En nuestro análisis
subsiguiente daremos cuenta de lo que hemos encontrado con ayuda de las matrices de
recolección de datos.
4.1 EL CONTINUO PLANIFICACIÓN-NO PLANIFICACIÓN
4.1.1 Longitud de los ensayos:
48
Una forma útil e ilustrativa de hacer una primera aproximación a los textos del
corpus es por medio de un breve análisis de la longitud y estructura superficial de los
textos, lo cual nos permite ilustrar que tan homogéneos o no son los textos en cuanto al
número de palabras, oraciones y párrafos.
En el cuadro 2 observamos fácilmente que el ensayo más corto tiene 132 palabras,
que es el ensayo G1, y los más largos tienen 722 y 890 palabras respectivamente (C3 y
J3). Ya hemos hecho referencia anteriormente a la particularidad de que los ensayos 1 y 5
fueron asignados para ser hechos en clase mientras que los restantes numerados (2,3,4)
fueron asignados para ser en hechos en casa. Comentamos esto porque con las cifras a la
vista, fácilmente podríamos suponer que los ensayos hechos en clase serán más cortos
que los hechos en casa. En el cuadro 2 observamos que, en efecto, los ensayos 1 y 5
tienden a ser más cortos que los demás que tienen en promedio 233 y 380 palabras
respectivamente. No podemos dejar de resaltar sin embargo que el promedio de palabras
en el ensayo número 2 es de 318, es decir menor que el último trabajo que fue hecho en
clase. Si nos fijamos ahora en lo que se refiere a los temas, bien podríamos decir que el
análisis de una canción (tema del ensayo número 2) se lleva a cabo o se cumple en un
número relativamente menor de palabras que el promedio de todos los ensayos (369
palabras), mientras que los referidos al amor son los que se desarrollan en promedio en
un mayor número de palabras, 455.
Cuadro 2: Longitud de los ensayos según número de palabras:
Estudiante
1
2
3
4
5
Australia
Canción
Amor
Cuentos
Género
Promedio por hoja
Total de
Palabras
A
192
183
318
253
258
240.8
1204
B
246
401
273
362
344
325.2
1626
C
271
194
722
684
474
469
2345
D
223
375
281
578
470
385.4
1927
E
237
247
288
374
353
299.8
1499
F
251
404
514
655
439
452.6
2263
G
132
277
259
536
366
314
1570
H
310
418
387
297
430
368.4
1842
I
257
354
623
424
321
396.8
1984
J
218
325
890
421
354
441.6
2208
2337
3183
4555
4584
3809
Total de
3693.2
18468
49
Palabras
Promedio
233.7
318.3
455.5
458.4
380.9
369.32
369.36
por ensayo
Otro indicador útil a fin de observar la densidad con la que se estructuran nuestros
textos nos lo proporciona el número de oraciones ortográficas y párrafos de los textos. En
el cuadro 3 observamos que el trabajo con más oraciones es J3 con 40 oraciones, y el que
menos oraciones tiene es el ensayo G1 con cuatro oraciones así como C1 y D1 con tan
sólo dos párrafos. Lo interesante de este indicador es que nos permite hacernos una idea
de qué tan largos e intrincados o qué tan simples son las oraciones y párrafos en nuestro
corpus. Tomemos el ejemplo del estudiante G en su ensayo número 1 en el cual hay 4
oraciones distribuidas en 3 párrafos. Ocurre algo similar con el ensayo 2 del mismo
estudiante donde hay 8 oraciones distribuidas en 7 párrafos. Otro ensayo que llama
nuestra atención es el C1 en el que hay 19 oraciones en 2 párrafos. Ambos ejemplos nos
muestran que hay una tendencia a hacer párrafos de una oración o a comprimir en una
oración en una proporción de 5:1 las oraciones en los párrafos. Sin embargo, lo más
común en el corpus es la relación 2:1. Es decir hay el doble de oraciones por párrafo, por
ejemplo: 10 oraciones en 4 párrafos (J1), 20 oraciones en 11 párrafos (B4) o el ejemplo
más exacto matemáticamente, el de J5, en el cual la proporción es de 10 a 5. Vale
también destacar que 10% de los ensayos tienen uno o dos párrafos es decir pocos
ensayos son relativamente cortos. En lo que se refiere a la proporción según el texto haya
sido realizado en casa o en clase se mantiene la misma tendencia de la que hablamos al
tratar el número de palabras. En los ensayos 1 y 5 el promedio de oraciones es de 11.3 y
15.3 respectivamente, y el de párrafos es de 3.5 y 6.9. De igual modo, cuando prestamos
atención a los temas, observamos que los ensayos número 2 son más cortos que los
número 5 hechos en clase y que tienen como promedio 15.3 oraciones en 6.9 párrafos.
Los ensayos con mayor cantidad de párrafos y oraciones son los que tratan el tema del
amor y los cuentos caribeños.
Si nos atreviésemos a hacer suposiciones, bien podríamos haber asumido que el
análisis de una canción debería motivar más a un estudiante a escribir que las diferencias
de género, sobretodo si tomamos en cuenta que el ensayo sobre género contaba con un
tiempo limitado para su realización. De allí que las aseveraciones apresuradas puedan
50
traernos conclusiones erróneas o imprecisas. Allí radica justamente el objetivo de nuestra
investigación, ir al fondo de las estrategias utilizadas y relacionarlas más bien con la
Cuadro3: Longitud de los textos según número de oraciones y párrafos:
1
2
3
4
5
Australia
Canción
Amor
Cuentos
Género
Promedio
Total
A
B
Oración
Párrafo
Oración
Párrafo
12
14
15
5
9
3
25
10
19
5
13
5
17
8
20
11
19
6
20
9
15.2
5.2
18.6
8
76
26
93
40
C
Oración
Párrafo
19
2
12
3
38
6
33
6
26
5
25.6
4.4
12
22
D
Oración
Párrafo
7
2
13
6
11
4
20
8
20
8
14.2
5.6
71
28
E
Oración
Párrafo
10
3
8
6
9
4
14
4
8
5
9.8
4.4
49
22
F
Oración
Párrafo
9
3
10
5
19
7
21
6
9
5
13.6
5.2
68
26
G
Oración
Párrafo
4
3
8
7
11
9
24
22
16
14
12.6
11
63
55
H
Oración
Párrafo
11
4
13
6
11
5
9
3
12
4
11.2
4.4
56
22
I
Oración
Párrafo
16
5
15
7
24
11
19
6
13
8
17.4
7.4
87
37
J
Oración
Párrafo
10
4
11
4
40
9
18
6
10
5
17.8
5.6
89
28
113
11.3
35
3.5
124
12.4
57
5.7
195
19.5
65
6.5
195
19.5
65
6.5
153
15.3
69
6.9
Total
Oraciones
Total
Párrafos
Absoluto
Promedio
Absoluto
Promedio
780
78
306
30.6
concepción que se tiene del texto y no con los cánones rígidos con que muchas veces
medimos los textos.
Lo pertinente de las cifras referentes al número de palabras, párrafos y oraciones
es que nos permite observar un panorama general de la longitud de los textos, a la vez
que permite relacionar su longitud con el tema y con el tipo de asignación (casa-clase)
Unas primeras generalizaciones que se derivan de lo observado anteriormente serían:
51
•
Los ensayos hechos en casa son en general más largos que los hechos en clase.
•
Los temas que son tratados más extensamente son los del amor y los cuentos
caribeños.
•
Como situaciones atípicas observamos que los ensayos sobre el análisis de una
canción interpretada en inglés son los segundos ensayos más largos, a la vez que
los ensayos sobre género o roles del hombre y la mujer en la sociedad son los
terceros más largos, a pesar de haber sido escritos en clase.
Luego de hacernos una idea general de la longitud de los textos pasamos ahora a
otro indicador que nos permitirá esclarecer de manera global qué tanto siguen los
estudiantes las indicaciones del profesor, en este caso en lo que se refiere a la asignación
misma dada y a la manera en que el alumno responde o se ciñe a esa tarea.
4.1.2 Relación entre estructura y tarea:
La importancia de este tópico es que nos permite medir qué tanto organiza el
estudiante el texto a fin de cumplir la tarea, y qué tan comprometidamente se asumen las
indicaciones. A fin de entender este parámetro se hace necesario conocer más a fondo las
asignaciones dadas a los estudiantes. En líneas generales, el profesor ha dado cinco temas
y lineamientos para abordarlos que le dan un margen amplio de libertad al alumno. En
algunos casos tenemos indicaciones, en otras diversas opciones o simplemente una tarea
y el alumno busca el tema en específico que quiere tratar. Por ejemplo, en el ensayo que
tiene como tema a Australia, una de las indicaciones era la siguiente: “Briefly compare
Australia and Venezuela in terms of principal geographical / population characteristics”,
otra opción era la de comparar un cuento sobre Australia “The Drover’s Wife” y el film
“The Piano”. De los diez estudiantes, seis escogieron esta indicación y cuatro
compararon el film y el cuento. En el tema sobre el amor tenemos dos indicaciones, el
primero: “What is the relationship between love and sex, and between love and
marriage? “, y el segundo“ Is love a natural “biological” phenomenon or a cultural
“learned” emotion “. En este caso, cuatro estudiantes escogieron la primera indicación y
seis la segunda. El ensayo número 5 sobre género tiene también una indicación, el
estudiante debía en esta oportunidad escoger sobre cuál texto de los estudiados quería
hablar: “Select any of the texts studied, and use it/ them as a starting point for a brief
52
essay on any aspect of gender issues”. Algunos de los textos estudiados fueron los
siguientes: “The Yellow Wallpaper”, “Confessions Of A Female Chauvinist Sow”, “Don’t
Talk , Listen!”. Un estudiante tomó incluso como punto de partida un documental visto en
clase cuyo nombre no es mencionado. Los dos ensayos restantes tienen una tarea incluso
más amplia, en el caso de la canción el alumno escogía libremente un tema interpretado
en inglés que debía posteriormente analizar. En el caso de los cuentos caribeños había
diversas opciones: resumir uno de los cuentos, comentar un cuento, comparar dos de ellos
que trataran un tema similar, y por último se les dio también la opción de redactar ellos
mismos una narración breve inspirada en estas historias. Algunos de ellos fueron: “My
Mother”, “The Two Grandmothers”, “Bella Makes Life” y “The Thursday Wife”.
Con una gama tan amplia de posibles temas a tratar, bien podría uno preguntarse
si es del todo posible medir qué tanto se ciñen, responden o cumplen los estudiantes la
tarea asignada; si es posible cierta homogeneidad en el cumplimiento de la tarea. En este
punto es donde radica lo interesante de este aspecto. Como se muestra en el cuadro 4
observamos que un 72% de los ensayos cumple la tarea. Hay por el contrario un 10% que
no lo hace ( es el ejemplo del ensayo G5, en el cual se parafrasea un cuento de Irwine
Welsh titulado “Eurotrash” cuando la asignación era hablar sobre género, o por ejemplo
el ensayo A4, en el cual se habla de la situación del turismo en el Caribe y Venezuela de
formal general, sin hacer alusión alguna a los cuentos leídos). Un 22% de los ensayos se
ciñe a la tarea de manera intermedia. Hemos identificado con la palabra ‘intermedia’,
refiriéndonos a ‘de forma intermedia’, a los ensayos en los que se respeta el tema, pero no
se especifica de manera clara sobre qué texto se habla.
Cuadro 4: Relación entre estructura y tarea:
Responde o se ciñe a la tarea exigida
Sí se ciñen
No
Intermedia
72%
10%
22%
De todo lo anterior se desprende entonces que la amplitud de temas no significa
necesariamente que la mayoría de los ensayos se disgregue en una infinidad de tópicos,
ya que en un 72% de los ensayos se siguen las asignaciones del profesor y por tanto en un
72% adapta el alumno la estructura de su texto a la tarea asignada.
53
4.1.3 Organización explícita por parte del autor:
La organización explícita del texto por parte de los autores tiene un valor
importante a la hora de estudiar, como lo estamos haciendo aquí, las marcas de oralidad
y escrituralidad en un texto, porque como bien se señaló en el marco teórico, se asume
generalmente como característica prototípica del discurso oral la falta de planificación y
del escrito el alto grado de planificación y organización (Calsamiglia y Tuson, 1999, de
Sterk, 2000). El lingüista Halliday afirma por su parte que ninguna modalidad es más o
menos organizada que la otra sino que, por las mismas características del discurso escrito,
al receptor le llega el resultado final, editado y limpio de dudas, revisiones, digresiones y
otros procesos que ocurren durante la producción del texto. Es decir, el lector recibe la
versión planificada y organizada del texto (Halliday,1987: 70-71). El discurso oral,
especialmente el producido cara a cara, por el contrario se construye al momento mismo
de la producción y
uno de los elementos característicos de la cadena hablada es
justamente la organización lineal del discurso y ‘por ende’ la falta de organización,
característica ésta que usualmente es vista como negativa muy fácilmente.
Para medir la planificación de los textos hemos estudiado si hay señales de
organización explícita por parte de los autores de alguno de los siguientes tipos: anuncios
explícitos, comentarios retrospectivos, reformulaciones, ordenaciones y enumeraciones.
En nuestro corpus hay una organización explícita en un 12% de los ensayos,
intermedia en un 48% y no hay ningún tipo de anuncio de organización explícita en un
40%. ¿Cómo definimos qué tan explícita es una señal de organización y cuándo pasa a
ser intermedia? A nuestro parecer, las expresiones adverbiales y conectores contextuales
o frases hechas usadas comúnmente en el mundo académico reflejan mayor grado de
planificación que el que reflejan expresiones formuladas en la primera persona.
Ejemplos: “In conclusion”, “Finally”, “First of all”, “Secondly”, “In other
words”, “In terms of”, “on the other hand”, “Regarding”, “ I’m going to talk about”.
Cuadro 5: Organización explícita por parte del autor:
54
Organización explícita por parte del autor
La hay
No la hay
Intermedia
12%
40%
48%
Si comparamos de entre las señales utilizadas cuál es la más frecuente,
observamos que las tres estrategias más usadas se reparten entre los dos tipos
anteriormente esbozados: In conclusion 14.08%, y Finally 16.9% se corresponden a los
adverbios y el 8.45% de las estrategias son formuladas en primera persona, seguidas en
un 5.6% por preguntas en las que se apoyan los estudiantes para organizar el texto. Vale
destacar que la mayoría de las preguntas son formuladas en los ensayos número tres sobre
el amor.
Por ejemplo:
(01) Why is that? (TD5)
(02) What is love?. But is the feeling something that we learned? (TE3)
(03) Which came first? When did love come to the scene? (TH3)
Cuadro: 6: Tipos de estrategia de organización explícita por parte de los autores
Estrategia
Anuncio explícito
Comentario
retrospectivo
Reformulación
Ordena o enumera
To talk about
Señales
Absolutos
1/71
Porcentajes
1.4 %
What we call
1/71
1.4 %
Talking about
3/71
4.2%
I’m going to talk about, I’m going to base on,
I would like to remark, I’m writing about, I
shall be concerned, would be interesting to
compare
To summarize
6/71
8.45%
1/71
1.4%
Let’s
2/71
2.8 %
In terms of
2/71
2.8%
In addition
2/71
2.8%
In_______________
3/71
4.2%
When it comes to
Regarding
2/71
1/71
2.8%
1.4 %
In the next text:
Ancient times /today
1/71
1/71
1.4 %
1.4 %
At the beginning
1/71
1.4 %
In other words
Preguntas:
In conclusion
In the first place
1/71
4/71
10/71
5/71
1.4 %
5.6%
14.08%
7%
55
2/71
3/71
4/71
12/71
3/71
First of all
In the second
Secondly
Finally
On the other hand
2.8%
4.2%
5.6%
16.9%
4.2%
Todo lo anterior nos muestra entonces que estos textos escritos tienen en un
porcentaje importante marcas de organización que tienden a ubicarse en un lugar
intermedio en el continuo.
Con el fin de estudiar más a fondo el grado de planificación de los ensayos,
presentamos cinco textos del corpus representativos del continuo planificación-no
planificación como se ve en el gráfico 2:
Gráfico 2: Representación del continuo planificación-no planificación:
Planificado
E1 J2
No planificado
C3
A4 A5
Los ensayos E1 y J2 fueron clasificados como planificados, pues utilizan diversas
señales de organización como:
on the other hand, finally, in the first place, in
conclusion, y por otra parte estos ensayos se ciñen a la tarea asignada por el profesor.
TE1
Australia and Venezuela in terms of principal geographical population
characteristics
Australia and Venezuela are countries that are very far to one another, they
are in differents continents, and in consequence, they have many cultural and
geographicals differences. Making a comparation, these countries have more or less
the same quantity of population, but Australia is almost seven times bigger than
Venezuela. There are also differences in clime, Australia is a very dry country with
coast in its south part and Venezuela has a tropical clima that sometimes is very wet.
On the other hand, in the north part of Australia, the clime is like venezuelan clime.
The cultural differences are many, first, Venezuela is a republic and
Australia still keep the monarchy figure that is the British Monarchy. Venezuela is
divided in 22 states which have more or less the same tall and Australia is divided in
only big seven states: In Venezuela population is distributed around the country but
the most of Australians are concentrated on cities. In consequence Australians way
of life is more modern and quickly than Venezuelan way of life. An other difference
is that Australia has a lot of influence of immigrants (British and Asian people) but
in Venezuela immigrants form only a little part of population.
56
Finally, we can see that the differences between countries can be
determinated by where they are in the world, by geographics aspects and by the
clime, all this made create also big cultural differences.
TJ2
GAMES WITHOUT FRONTIERS (Peter Gabriel, 1980)
This song refers specially to war, children and the kind of games that these
children play together.
In the first place, an aspect that we should take into account is that the
different names of children can represent some of the different nations that took part
in the war. So, Hans, Lotte and Adolf could represent Germany; Jane and Will: The
United States and England; Suki: Japan; André France and Chiang Chi: Vietnam.
Secondly, it is obvious that because of the war there is an atmosphere of violence
around these children that influences on their behaviour and actions. They seem to
imitate through games what adults do during war time; so, one kid has a red flag
while other has a blue one (different countries, different ideologies) and they are
dressing up in costumes, hiding out in tree-tops and what is more, they are shouting
out rude names. In fact, they are just playing, but the violence that they see around
them, they have it already inside.
Another aspect that we should point out is that if these children represent
different nations in war, they also hate eachother as their countries do. It is true that
by the fact they are children, they have no guns, but if their looks could kill they
probably will, because they are at war and this implies hating and killing the enemy.
It seems to me that this is why their games are without frontiers, they have no limits,
actually they wish they could kill eachother. Furthermore, If their games have no
limits, they have no feelings and this is also why their war is a war without tears,
they just cannot cry, they feel no sorrow at any death.
In conclusion, the singer is showing one of the terrible aspects of war that
has to do when children who are not even capable of understanding a conflict like
this, get not only involved in it but also corrupted.
El ensayo C3 es representativo del gran porcentaje de ensayos que hemos
clasificado como intermedios en la planificación (recordemos que hemos llamado
intermedios a un 22% de los ensayos en cuanto a la tarea, y 48% en cuanto a la
organización explícita). En este texto sobre el amor se logra una estructura interesante
basada en el comentario de estribillos de canciones de amor. El ensayo se organiza
además con base en preguntas y ordenadores como in conclusion. Estos recursos son
usados por la mayoría de los ensayos en los que hemos detectado una posición intermedia
en el corpus:
C3
Love Songs
"Help, I need somebody
Help, not just anybody
Help, you now I need someone
Help!"
Everybody says that love is one of the most beautiful feelings in human been. Even,
most of the people say that is the greatest feeling, and they firmly believe that. But, how can
57
you believe in something that you cannot see? Or, why do people feel so happy when they are
in love? These are questions hard to answer because, love is really incomprehensible, noone
can say what is he/she feeling or why is he/she happy for, when love appears. They just say
that they are the happiest man or woman in the world.
A natural "biological" emotion or a learned "cultural" phenomenon, love could be
both. "Biological" because there are some reactions which can be explained by science. For
example, the ticklishness in the stomach, the stammering someone has when is in front of the
loved person, that kind of stupidity that you have when you are thinking of your lover, and so
on. Just science can study these things and explain us with a real and logical language. But we
really do not feel attached to, when we read or listen to those studies that talk about the
incomprehensible love. We prefer feel as a strange person who see grow up flowers on the
roadway, and that usually sings love songs:
"Love is real
real is love
Love is you\you and me"
The Beatles
However, society has influence in our conduct, and we are pushed to fall in love. If
someone does not have a partner, everybody says that something strange is happening. So,
lonely people seek the way in order to find the form to "have" a partner for to "be" part of the
severe society. A girl goes to the beauty shop, buys fashion clothes, and tries to lose fat. A boy
looks for money that can use with a girl in a bar, cinema or whatever, tries to be like the new
idols (Brad Pitt. Ricky Martin, etc) and so on. Many of couples are join because of pressure of
others. In a group of friends if somebody do not have a partner, they look for one. People in
love want to see others in their situation, and share their beautifull feelings. They want to give
all that they can (or "are" or "have") to the loved person:
"I want to give you some love
I want to give you some good lovin'"
Bob Marley
But, it is important to say, that people are "animals" with a "developed brain". In
that case, Sex appears. People want to be in love, that is a reality, but they want to have sex in
order to have children and perpetuate their name and their genes. Sex is really important in the
conduct of people, because by means of they can liberate a lot of big energy, satisfy their
instincts, etc. People can have sex with somebody who are not in love of them, and in a couple
of hours feel like the happiest man or woman all over the world. Of course, it is better go to
bed with the loved person, but is not necessary to be in love for have sex. It is easiest find
someone who wants to have a wonderful night that a person who shares his/her life with you
forever and ever.
"Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir"
Now then, if people want to get marry, it is logic that they could be in love. But,
again, one thing is not part of the other, there are couples that do not know each other until the
marriage's date. So with that example we see that people can marry without love. Also people
can love without marriage, and people can get sex without love! Even, and it is really awful,
people can be in love and not have sex.
In conclusion, we are humans been and we have the power and the faculty to realize
all the feelings of our brain (or our heart). Love arrives in some way and we do not know what
to do in that case. We react as we feel better. However, particularly, I do not believe in love, I
cannot believe in something I cannot see, perhaps love will come to me but I am not waiting
for… For the moment, let's to continue to listening to those love song:
"All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love
Love is all you need"
The Beatles
Los ensayos A4 y A5 son representativos de la falta de planificación en dos
aspectos fundamentales. En A4 no se sigue la tarea asignada, se deja de lado el tema y se
habla sobre ‘el factor económico” en el Caribe. En A5 resalta la ausencia de señales de
organización por parte del autor.
58
TA4
Talking about the Caribbean island, we have to mention the economical
fact, obviously.
In almost all of that islands, the economical fact is based on the tourism as
the main source.
A big percentage of the tourists visiting that areas look for relaxation, and a
minor number of tourists go for business.
From the point of view of the tourism as the main source, many Caribbean
people take advantage of this to earn money. So they work in hotels, restaurants or in
any place near the beach. Some of them are shopkeepers and have small or big
shops where they can sell any kind of food or souvenirs.
Tourists can visit beautiful places and beaches and eat whatever they want.
The most favourite places are the casinos. Tourist earn a lot of money or they lose it
on bets.
In contrast, Venezuela takes a little advantage of the tourism. There are not
enough places for enjoying like casinos. Here in Venezuela tourists enjoy visiting
national parks, historical places or beautiful beaches. This is a natural attraction.
People enjoy the nature.
Tourism in Venezuela is not the main source to make money because
money is made by the oil industry.
In conclusion we can say that Caribbean islands and Venezuela are a little
bit different from the touristical point of view. In the first one, tourism is the most
important source to make money, and in the second one tourism is one of the sources
to make money but is not the most important.
TA5
In this essay I am going to talk about one of the theme I consider important
which is Sexuality in women. I am going to base on a documental we watched in
class.
In the past, many women were repressed by culture, society even men. This
situation has had its consequence. Women thought and think that sex is something
wrong. You cannot enjoy sex if you are a decent or respectable woman. This
situation has caused that women feel bad, sad or depressed if they enjoy it.
The same thing happens in different countries and cultures While every
woman has to have just one man, man can have every woman they want. Men can be
married several women at the same time. This is called repression.
I think is unfair that every democratic Constitution demands Equality and
says "All citizens are equal". But were is the Equality if women cannot have the
same rights than men? Many time equality is something artificial or superficial. I'm
not saying that women have to have the men they want. I am saying that a woman
who wants to have many men has to be respected by everybody. I am demanding
Respect.
Nowadays a lot of women have to learn to enjoy sex and I am sure they
have liberated from many repressions and they start to feel good.
Also, they do not see sex as a sin anymore. They have learned that sex was
created to be enjoyed and not to be repressed because we cannot repressed something
that starts life.
Lo anterior nos permite decir, finalmente, que en los ensayos estudiados hay en general
una planificación intermedia que tiene, valga resaltar, una tendencia muy marcada hacia
59
el polo de la no-planificación, sobre todo si tomamos en cuenta que en un 40% de los
ensayos no hay señales de organización.
4.2 EL CONTINUO COMPROMISO-DISTANCIAMIENTO
Tradicionalmente se asume que el discurso oral es caracterizado por la
fragmentación y el compromiso, mientras que el escrito se caracteriza por la integración
y el distanciamiento. A fin de descubrir qué concepción y hacia qué polo se acercan los
textos estudiados, hemos abordado el compromiso y distanciamiento en nuestro análisis
tanto del autor con su audiencia, como con el tema que lo ocupa. En otras palabras,
abordamos la forma en que se hace presente el autor en su texto.
Veremos en primer lugar las señales lingüísticas que denotan compromiso y
distanciamiento del autor con su audiencia. Luego, estudiaremos los datos porcentuales
tanto de compromiso como de distanciamiento del autor con el tema, los cuales, cabe
destacar, fueron calculados tomando en cuenta ambos rasgos juntos, con el fin de
apoyarnos con cifras y porcentajes a la hora de definir que tipo de estrategia impera en
nuestro corpus.
4.2.1 Deixis de autor y de lector:
Por medio de la deixis de autor y de lector podemos identificar cómo se relaciona
el autor con su audiencia. Sabemos que son características del discurso académico la
formalidad, claridad y objetividad. ¿Cómo se traduce esto en la deixis de autor y de
lector? En español sabemos que se acostumbra usar la primera persona del plural y a
evitar hacer alusiones directas al interlocutor. Cuando estamos estudiando el inglés
comúnmente se nos dice que debemos tratar de ser más breves que en español y que
tenemos permiso de usar la voz pasiva y diversas construcciones impersonales con mayor
frecuencia. ¿Cómo se traduce esto entonces en la deixis personal en nuestro corpus?
En nuestros cincuenta ensayos, lo más común en la deixis de autor es la primera
persona del plural con un 44%, luego se combina We/I en un 36%, y en igual porcentaje
encontramos que se usa el I con un 10% y sin ninguna referencia tenemos un 10%. Es
60
interesante encontrar esta especie de tabú del yo o uso casi por regla del plural
mayestático que parece trasladarse del español al inglés. Hablamos de traslado pues en
números totales el We supera al I.
Cuadro 7: Deixis de autor y de lector
Deixis de autor
Deixis de lector
I
We
One
We/I
Sin
referencia
You
people
Imperativo
5/50
22/50
0
18/50
5/50
5/50
14/50
10%
44%
0%
36%
10%
10%
28%
1/50
You /
People
7/50
Sin
referencia
23/50
2%
14%
46%
En la deixis de lector encontramos que el mayor porcentaje lo tiene el renglón sin
referencia, es decir, en un 46% de los ensayos no hay ningún tipo de referencia al lector.
Lo anterior es bastante representativo de esas reglas a las que nos referíamos con
anterioridad, según las cuales se valora el uso de la primera persona del plural, como una
manera de, bien sea fundirse con la audiencia, mostrarse como parte de un grupo o como
convención para mostrar formalidad. De igual forma se favorece la ausencia de alusiones
al receptor, en nuestro caso el lector. El tipo de referencia más usado es entonces
“people” con un 28% y luego con un 14% la combinación de You y People. El caso de
“people” es tan interesante como el de “we” dado que con el sustantivo people bien se
puede referir el autor a toda la gente en general, incluyéndose a sí mismo y tal vez al
lector, al igual que bien puede ser un mecanismo para separarse de la otra gente. Con
todo esto queremos decir que la simple elección de estas palabras sobre otras estructuras
como el pasivo y las impersonales marca la relación del autor con su audiencia. Podemos
ver ejemplos donde we parece ser la convención de la formalidad, y otros en los que los
autores se incluyen en un grupo para diferenciarse de otros.
Ejemplos:
Se marca la diferencia:
(04) I think is unfair (TA5)
EL autor se incluye:
(05) we can say that love is not a cultural
(TA3)
(06) we must stop the chauvinistic fight
(TC5)
Las mujeres en oposición a los hombres:
61
(07) We as well as men.
(TD5)
General, como sinónimo de “uno”:
(08) People want to see others in their situation.
(TC3)
(09) How can you take an antimale position.
(10) Any of them you could find.
(TC5)
(TH1)
(11) Who you are sexually attracted to
(TJ5)
Personal, es decir se refiere sólo al autor:
(12) Nobody can teach you to love, you just fell it. Why do people think. (TD3)
Por otro lado, tan sólo un ensayo usa el imperativo que es si se quiere la forma de
apelación más cercana al lector.
(13) Don’t let the money and the material world transform us... Don’t pretend to
be something who you are not.
(TD4)
Cuadro: 8: Compromiso y distanciamiento en la deixis de autor y de lector:
Autor
Compromiso
Intermedio
Lector
Distanciamiento
Compromiso
Intermedio
Distanciamiento
26/50
17/50
7/50
9/50
14/50
27/50
52%
34%
14%
18%
28%
54%
Al observar estos datos desde la óptica del compromiso y el distanciamiento
encontramos que la relación es opuesta entre autor y lector. En la deixis de autor
predomina el compromiso con un 52% y en la deixis de lector predomina el
distanciamiento con un 54%. Lo anterior nos permitiría suponer que los estudiantes en
su mayoría acostumbran a hacerse presentes en los textos de una forma que parece tender
a la inclusión del lector, no por medio de alusiones directas que como ya vimos tienen un
porcentaje relativamente bajo, sino haciéndolos parte de la primera persona del plural o
por medio de la palabra people y el pronombre you con referencia general similar a
nuestro “uno” en español.
4.2.2 Compromiso y distanciamiento con el tema:
62
Estrategias que denotan compromiso del autor con el tema son: palabras
evaluativas, expresión explícita de opinión, expresión de sentimientos personales,
expresión de certeza y cautela, referencias a experiencias personales, construcciones
adverbiales de tiempo, construcciones adverbiales de lugar, referencias a procesos
mentales y verbales.
Las estrategias de compromiso más usadas en el corpus son el uso de palabras
evaluativas con un 7.14%, la referencia a procesos verbales con 5.28%, expresión de
certeza y cautela con 7.13% y la expresión explícita de opinión con un 4.8%. Una mirada
detallada a las palabras usadas nos deja ver que la mayoría del vocabulario usado es
neutral.
Cuadro 9: Compromiso y distanciamiento del autor con el tema
Compromiso o distanciamiento del autor con el tema
C
O
M
P
R
O
M
I
S
O
D
I
S
T
A
N
C
I
A
M
I
E
N
T
O
Estrategia
Absoluto
Porcentaje
Palabras evaluativas
Expresión explícita opinión
Expresión de sentimientos personales
50/50
34/50
4/50
16/50
Certeza y cautela19/50
Cautela
15/50
1/50
16/50
12/50
37/50
39/50
1/50
7.14%
4.85%
0.57%
2.28%
2.7%
2.14%
0.14%
2.28%
1.7%
5.28%
5.57%
0.14%%
31/50
4.42%
29/50
45/50
14/50
4.14%
6.42%
2%
Certeza
Expresión de certeza y cautela
Expresión de experiencias personales
Adverbiales de tiempo
Adverbiales de lugar
Referencia procesos mentales y verbales
Oraciones pasivas
Sujeto metafórico
Adjetivos / adverbios
que indican
Probabilidad o Confiabilidad
del conocimiento
Construcciones impersonales
Pronombres neutros
Sujetos Abstractos
o indefinidos
Con ayuda del programa Wordsmith (Scott, 1994) hicimos una exploración de las
palabras ‘evaluativas’ más usadas. Esta revisión nos permite afirmar que la tendencia es
hacia el uso de palabras marcadas como neutrales o no marcadas. Algunas de ellas son:
different, important, alone, human, married, new, social, big, cultural, sexual, better,
63
learned, poor, natural, bad, biological, Caribbean, real, strong, beautiful, hard, happy,
similar, romantic, geographical, intelligent, British, economical, difficult, boring. Entre
muchas otras 2.
Clasificamos la certeza y cautela en tres renglones: 1) ensayos en los que
predominan o hay sólo rasgos de certeza; 2) ensayos en los que predomina la cautela; 3)
ensayos en los que se combinan estrechamente ambas estrategias. Es interesante que la
distribución de los tres renglones en las estrategias es bastante pareja. Ello nos lleva a
pensar que los estudiantes en una distribución bastante equitativa se refieren en una
forma muy segura a sus conocimientos, o en una forma en que expresan
mayoritariamente dudas y finalmente, otro grupo combina estrechamente ambas
estrategias. Es decir se ubican en un continuo que tiene en los polos opuestos la certeza y
la duda.
Ejemplos de certeza:
(14) People prefer darkness to light. So people do not dare see reality because
that reality can take them out of the routine and nobody likes to do something different.
(TA2)
(15) ... men always depend on women, because they don’t know how to do things
by their own (TI5)
Ejemplos de cautela:
(16) Men are less responsible (of course not all it is another prejudice)
(TA5)
(17) When people fall in love, sex seems to be the final prove to love.
(TH3)
(18) the most approximated interpretation of the song would be, in my opinion,
that wars are no longer for the love of god...
(TD2)
Llama además la atención la diversidad de estrategias usadas para expresar
cautela, mientras que con respecto a la certeza encontramos sólo dos tipos: usar verbos
sin modalizadores con un 26.5% y la construcción: to be sure, surely con 2.53%. En lo
que se refiere a las estrategias de cautela, observamos que nuevamente los más usados
2
Para una revision más detallada del léxico utilizado ver análisis del vocabulario en “ 4.3 El continuo
formalidad-informalidad”
64
son de tipo verbal (ver cuadro: 10). En el cuadro anterior resalta la estrecha combinación
de certeza y cautela, lo cual nos hace ver que de una manera equitativa los estudiantes se
expresan con seguridad plena o bien con poca confianza en sus textos.
Cuadro 10: Señales de certeza y cautela:
Estrategias
Certeza
Cautela
Absoluto
Verbos sin modalización
To be sure
Subjuntivo
A little bit
Some
Many times
Seem
Or
About
Most
More or less
More
Perhaps
Only
Almost the same
At least
As if
Certain
May
Might
Total
Porcentaje
21/79
26.5%
2/79
2.53%
16/79
20.2%
2/79
2.53%
1/79
1.2%
1/79
1.2%
8/79
10.12%
1/79
1.2%
3/79
3.8%
7/79
8.8%
2/79
2.53%
1/79
1.2%
1/79
1.2%
1/79
1.2%
3/79
3.7%
2/79
2.53%
1/79
1.2%
1/79
1.2%
2/79
2.53%
1/79
1.2%
79
100%
Otros indicadores cuya presencia en el texto denota compromiso es la expresión
explícita de opiniones personales. La expresión de opiniones explícitas nos sirve aquí
para identificar aquellas opiniones que en el texto están marcadas como propias del autor
del texto. Una manera de identificarlas es mediante el uso de la referencia a la primera
persona, a continuación veremos algunos ejemplos de las diversas formas en que los
estudiantes expresan explícitamente su opinión:
Ejemplos:
(18) I can say that silence is in one way darkness. (TA2)
(19) I do not think that romanticism or sexual impulses deserve to be called love.
(TB3)
(20) In my opinion I won´t judge the girl (TI4)
(21) I do not believe in love (TC3)
(22) What I think is that being poor is a condition you can rejct. (TD4)
65
(23) and I would say it is a biological phenomenon. (TD3)
(24) In my opinion there are several reasons to fall in love (TE3)
(25) From my point of view the “life´s most intense emotion”, love, is a learned
emotion. (TF3)
(25) From my point of view it doesn´t matter who is the opresor. (TF5)
(26) In my opinion can be divided in six parts (TB5)
(27) It seems to me that this is why their games are without frontiers (TJ2)
También encontramos construcciones adverbiales de tiempo y de lugar, las cuales,
a pesar de su bajo porcentaje, son reveladoras a nuestro parecer de la concepción del
texto y de la cercanía o compromiso que se busca crear. Hemos incluido las referencias
adverbiales que expresan el ego hinc nunc del autor y no las que se clasifican como am
phantasma, es decir, los casos de deixis que se producen cuando un hablante hace
referencia a indicaciones de espacio, personales o temporales que ocurren en el universo
del discurso y no en el momento de enunciación (Briz, 2000). Si bien las referencias de
tiempo son mayores que las de lugar 2.28% y 1.71%, nos interesan en mayor grado estas
últimas pues denotan no sólo cercanía sino también saber compartido. El tipo más común
de referencia local fue “here in Venezuela”, otros ejemplos resaltantes son:
Ejemplos:
(28) the text read in class. (TB3)
(29) watched in class. (TA5)
Y finalmente otro punto importante es la referencia a procesos verbales los cuales,
en conjunto con los rasgos antes nombrados, contribuyen a formar una sensación de
cercanía, de compromiso. El tipo de referencia más usado es el verbo “see” con un
28.6%. Le sigue think con un 23% y say con un 19%.
Cuadro 11: Tipos de procesos verbales:
Verbo
Tell
Say
See
Read
Know
Think
Feel
Absoluto
2/42
8/42
12/42
1/42
5/42
10/42
2/42
Porcentaje
4.7%
19%
28.6%
2.9%
11.9%
23.8%
4.7%
66
1/42
1/42
Listen
Sing
2.9%
2.9%
Una revisión de los casos en que se usan los verbos anteriores deja ver que estos
tres parecen tener además una función específica en los textos. See parece usarse
frecuentemente como verbo cognitivo para describir una situación:
(30) we can see the change. (TC4)
(31) We can see there are similarities (TD1)
Encontramos igualmente el uso de see como verbo de percepción:
(32) She finally sees the shape of a woman (TJ5)
Y usos variados como sinónimo de comprender, captar o concebir:
(33) We can see how the society put pressure on people to have a partner. (TE3)
(34) Marriage is seen as the base of the family. (TJ3)
(35) and as we can see, romantic love. (TJ3)
Luego podríamos decir que think auxilia a los estudiantes cuando quieren
expresar su opinión:
(36) I think that the idea. (TJ5)
(37) I think that the culture. (TD5)
Say introduce también los pensamientos de autores con una interesante gradación
de intensidad:
Menos enfática:
(38) I would say that it is a biological phenomenon (TD3)
Medianamente enfática:
(39) I say that not only the woman has taken part in fashion and beauty but also
the black woman. (TB5)
Muy enfática:
(40) I’ not saying that women have to have the men they want. I am saying that a
woman who wants to have many men has to be respected by everybody. I’m demanding
respect! (TA5)
67
Es también relevante el uso de los verbos sing, read y listen con 2.4% cada uno,
ya que se refieren a procesos estrechamente relacionados con escuchar una canción o leer
un cuento, actividades que les fueron encomendadas a los estudiantes. Igualmente resalta
el uso de know, empleado sobre todo en construcciones en las que se niega el
conocimiento:
Ejemplos:
(41) we don’t know when it is going to happen and we neither know with who it is
going to happen (TE3)
(42) ... and that woman in the drover’s wife (we do not know her name) (TC1)
En lo que se refiere al distanciamiento, las estrategias más usadas para mantener
distancia con el tema son el uso de pronombres neutros con 6.42%, en el uso de oraciones
pasivas con 5.57% y el uso de adjetivos y adverbios para mostrar probabilidad del
conocimiento y las construcciones impersonales.
Hablamos de pronombres neutros cuando en el corpus se emplea una forma
pronominal que engloba algo mencionado anteriormente, funcionan como una referencia
anafórica. Los pronombres son: it con un 52%, this con un 24% y that con un 12%
como los más usados.
Ejemplos:
(43) we do not know the name of the main character and neither her mother’s in
spite of their importance to the story, because it is based on them (TH4)
(44) ... the things cannot be changed because the wounds are there. This is a kind
of criticism to those parents who are in trouble (TE2)
(45) they have been victims of discrimination, and that is just because of their
religion. (TD5)
En las oraciones pasivas hemos encontrado tanto la pasiva ‘canónica’ o finita
como la no finita:
(46) a bad weather which is represented by the sad rain. (TB1)
(47) Produced and performed by the singer. (TF2)
68
Uno de los aspectos más interesantes se aborda cuando comparamos las
estrategias para mostrar certeza y cautela en el compromiso y probabilidad y
confiabilidad con el conocimiento en el distanciamiento. Bien podríamos decir que en
cierto modo las estrategias apuntan hacia el mismo norte, ambas buscan una
modalización, bien sea modalizar lo que se sabe o no se sabe o reforzar lo que se opina.
Es por eso que a little bit (2.53%) y rarely (1.71%) tienen una función parecida, o un to
be sure(2.53%) o una alusión del tipo “men don’t change their minds” significan algo
parecido a obviously (3.5%) o evident. Lo interesante es que si sumamos los ensayos en
los que se expresa cautela y en los que se expresa certeza y comparamos esa cifra con la
de adjetivos y adverbios da un porcentaje igual, lo que nos indica que los alumnos en
general combinan estrategias de compromiso y distanciamiento en sus ensayos de forma
casi indistinta.
Cuadro 12: Adjetivos y adverbios para expresar probabilidad:
Tipo
Obviously
Commonly
Probably
Maybe
Evident
Chiefly
Perhaps
Usually
Particularly
Apparently
Mainly
Predominant
Approximately
Clearly
Essentially
Specially
Almost
Largely
Indeed
Rarely
In general/ generally
Definitely
Actually
Specifically
Normally
Completely
Absolutely
Absoluto
2
1
4
6
1
1
5
2
1
1
2
1
1
2
1
3
1
1
1
1
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
Porcentaje
3.57%
1.7%
7.1%
10.7%
1.7%
1.7%
8.9%
3.57%
1.7%
1.7%
3.57%
1.7%
1.7%
3.57%
1.7%
5.35%
1.7%
1.7%
1.7%
1.7%
3.57%
3.57%
1.7%
1.7%
1.7%
1.7%
1.7%
Las construcciones impersonales estudiadas son there is y there are que ocupan
4.42% de las estrategias, mientras que las diversas clases de sujeto que hemos llamado
metafórico (como the next text) o abstractos (como this situation, this aspect) ocupan un
69
0.14% y 2% respectivamente. Es decir, se tiende más bien a repetir los sujetos en vez de
reformularlos o reagruparlos.
Habiendo hecho ya el análisis pormenorizado de las estrategias de compromiso y
distanciamiento con respecto al tema, notamos que en un 51.7% de los ensayos se usan
estrategias de compromiso y distanciamiento. De ese 51.7% de los ensayos un 29%
muestra compromiso y un 22.69% muestra distanciamiento. Lo cual nos demuestra
nuevamente que hay una relación bastante pareja entre compromiso y distanciamiento.
A continuación presentamos un gráfico en el que
se insertan cuatro textos representativos del continuo de
compromiso y distanciamiento que encontramos en el corpus:
Gráfico 3: El continuo de compromiso-distanciamiento
Distanciamiento
H5
Compromiso
D4
J4
F5
El ensayo H5 se ubica en el polo del distanciamiento, pues hay en general
distanciamiento con el tema, que se evidencia en el tipo de palabras evaluativas
utilizadas, a excepción del final del ensayo y la palabra corny, y las escasas expresiones
de certeza y cautela. Se observa también un uso al parecer convencional del pronombre
we como convención de formalidad, pero que sin embargo incluye a las mujeres y las
resalta como grupo distinto al de los hombres.
H5
Essay
Throughout history there has been a gender differentiation. Women pass the
stereotypes against men from one generation to another, so they live their lives
according to their prejudices, trying to avoid suffering and abuses from men. After
the feminist revolution in the '60s, these beliefs became even more powerful and
women started to participate en every movement or situation that men kept them
apart from: they started to work and this was one of the steps for women to become
stronger and independent.
However, as women tried to achieve their own space in society, they also tried
to reinforce the anti-male feelings which was a dangerous situation because right
now, after 40 years that system used by oppressed women is affecting us in a
negative way. Women do not trust men anymore, they think men are not capable of
loving anyone more than they love themselves, that they are egotistical, immature,
selfish, violent, thoughtless, etc. This current image of men that women that men
have in their heads is leading us to a different result of what the feminist revolution
was meant to accomplish: equality. On the contrary, women feel superior to men,
70
this makes them feel morally better, because this way they think they are healing all
the injuries they have suffered for a long time.
Women have to stop making this division between men and women, because it
could become a permanent mark of our culture in he future. We have to encourage
equality of rights and obligations, and also qualities, accepting that we could be as
good, as intelligent as any man but also that they could be as good, as loving and as
tender as we are.
This movement of women's liberation has to start by sharing the powers and the
responsibilities between the two sexes and not excluding the partner from the most
important decisions of life, such as marriage, family, work, children, etc. This can
help us to erase the old stereotypes from our minds and finally accept that both men
are women are on Earth for an important mission, which they have to accomplish
together in a way that they can accept and overcome their differences and make them
work for their own benefit, completing each other. Otherwise, there would not be
two sexes; sometimes it is hard to accept, but if we think about it and work for it, we
could improve our lifestyles and bring a little armony to a world full of hate and
sadness and although it may sound corny, in the end is all that we want.
Los ensayos D4 y J4, ambos sobre los cuentos caribeños, son representativos de la
ubicación intermedia en los continuos, porque son ejemplos en los que se inician los
textos con una tendencia hacia el distanciamiento y a medida que se avanza hacia el final
del texto hay una marcada tendencia hacia el compromiso, tanto en las palabras
evaluativas como en la inclusión de experiencias personales, sentimientos personales y
opiniones explícitas. Este acercamiento al polo del compromiso se hace sobretodo patente
en el empleo de la primera persona singular y en la expresión muy segura, es decir con
marcada certeza, de los conocimientos y opiniones de los autores:
D4
"The two grandmothers" is a story written by Oliver Senior and it is based on
letters that a Jamaican (black) girl writes to her mother every time she visits her
grandmothers on vacations. This girl describes the experiences of spending time with
her two grandmothers: "Grandma Del", the paternal one, lives in a poor little town,
she is rural, extremely poor, conservative, but a sweet, lovely, and kind person. Since
the girl was a child she loved to spend time with he "Grandma Del", she took her to
church, she made her hats and dresses "with her two hands". She always gave her
advices, she made her feel special, she told her stories every nights, she took care
and loved her granddaughter. The girl had fun even though the grandma did not have
TV, or books or games to entertain herself.
When the girl grew up she started to spend time with her maternal grandmother,
who lives in a city, and who is a modern and a well economic positioned woman; she
is a very materialistic, selfish and empty person. However, the girl likes her
grandmother Elaine because she is always giving her presents, and taking her
shopping, she makes her chocolate cakes, the girl spends all day watching TV, her
grandma promised to take her to Disneyworld…
Finally, the girl adopts urban attitudes and starts to reject rural, she did not want
to come back with her grandma Del anymore, in fact, she wants to have anything to
do with her poor and boring paternal family.
71
This story clearly describes the division of a society, the way in which both poor
people and rich people live, think and feel, because is not only the money which
make them different, but their inside feelings.
The story also make us realize how money and modern things, I mean, the
material world, transforms people, how these people live on appearances, on an
empty world. The girl preferred living with her maternal grandma who gave her
presents and took her shopping rather than remaining in a boring town and a poor
little house where her grandma Del took care of her and make her feel special.
But this same story we can also see it in many countries around the world: in
Venezuela, for example, that is a country in which the 80% of the population live in
an extreme poverty, we can see how the values and feelings are lost just to go
towards the material things. I know people who is poor and even thought they are
poor, they are always saying "I bought this, I bought that, I will travel this weekend",
and so on. It seems they are living in a "dreamed world"
What I think is that being poor is a condition that you can reject, of course, you
are going to look for a material and a personal satisfaction, and that is what all this is
about, but we can never deny and reject where we came from. Don't let the money
and the modern and material world transform us in empty and insensitive people,
money is important, very important, but is not all we need.
I don't know people from other countries, but Venezuelans like to live on
appereances, even thought they are poor. I see it stupid, if you are poor, try to get
better, fight and try to achieve (honestly) what you want, don't pretend something or
someone who you are not!
J4
Essay on the Caribbean
The Caribbean islands are very similar to latinoamerican countries in terms
of poverty, conservatism and opportunities of development.
For geographical and economical reasons a large population of these
countries are immigrants in the United States of America, "the land of happiness and
opportunity".
In the next text of Lorna Goodison "Bella makes life", Bella is a Jamaican
woman who goes to the States leaving behind her husband and children in order to
make some money and with the intention of coming back. But when she comes back,
her husband notices that she is not the same woman, she had became liberal,
extravagant, materialistic and selfish, the American society had already influenced
on her. While her husband was working hard and looking after the kids, she was
enjoying herself in the States. At the end of the story, her husband can no longer
stand her and she just doesn't find herself in Jamaica and goes back to the States.
I would like to compare this story to a personal anecdote about a girl who
used to work as a domestic in my aunt's house. Her name was Minerva and she was
living with her husband. After having worked two years with my aunt, she made the
decision of going to the States because she wanted to make some money. By chance
she started working in a house of a woman she knew; this woman needed someone
for looking after her retarded son. At the beginning the time was hard for Minerva,
she couldn't speak English and she was alone, her husband was in Venezuela.
However, her new job was not difficult and it was well paid (much better than her
job in Venezuela). After one year she found a better job and her husband moved out
with her. She already spoke English and in her new job she was earning even more
money than my aunt in Venezuela!.
At the moment she is still in the States and she doesn't want to come back.
There, she has all that she wants: an apartment, a very good job and her husband.
Sometimes she writes to me and once she sent me $10 for my birthday.
A Bella, Minerva identified herself with the American society, she changed,
maybe not into bad as Bella did, but she is not the same as before. In contrast to
72
Bella, she took her husband with her to the States, and how now they live quite well
and they are not planning to come back.
El ensayo F5 es representativo del polo del compromiso, pues en él la autora
marca desde la primera palabra su cercanía con la audiencia y con el tema que analiza,
abundan las opiniones, palabras evaluativas, la expresión de mucha certeza y de cierta
cautela.
F5
Select any of the texts studied, and use it /them as a starting point for a brief essay on
any aspect of gender issues.
I don't know how many times I've been told that women are weaker than men, that
we're supposed to take care of our homes and our kids because men are self-seeking,
irresponsible, aggressive and unkind people. Perhaps, most of us have been taught
that men are naturally amoral while females are more mature, we've been taught to
accept the idea that men are interested in things while women are interested in
humanity, in fact, it's not difficult to see how we form stereotypes and how society
makes us form different gender prejudices, as Anne Roiphe tells us in her essay
"Confessions of a Female Chauvinist Sow".
I reckon that patterns we've been taught can affect our ways of thinking regarding to
gender issues, and as much as we develop our prejudices a feeling of superiority
emerges, which leads us to oppress or to discriminate others. Regarding to women, I
think that only female's liberation movement would have since if we don't eliminate
the divisinnes which has largely characterized relations between men and women. If
we still having the idea that we're superior than men, an anti-male feeling could
destroy our seek for equality because because we, who have largely been an
oppressed group, could become oppressors.
I also take into account the fact that it's hard to women to see the prejudices we have
regarding to males because we have largely been isolated, one can see how men have
kept us out of their worlds, it's difficult to realize how many times women have been
ignored because of the power men have had throw the history and it's not easy to
hide the fact that even nowadays, in some societies, females do not have the same
rights or opportunities that males. But we should notice that if they treat us as
inferior people, discriminating us, we call this chauvinism, but wouldn't it be the
same if we did it to them.
From my point of view it doesn't matter who is the oppressor and who is the
oppressed, this leads to the same: unequality.
Perhaps, we're not more aggressive than them because we haven't had the
opportunity, maybe they could be as protective as us if we give them a chance, if we
trust them and stop assuming that they are our intellectual inferiors, if we assume
them able to take care of kids, indeed, the important thing is to get rid of prejudices,
if we want equality we should start believing in it.
Apoyándonos en esta representación gráfica y en las cifras anteriormente
estudiadas, podemos afirmar que nuevamente hay una tendencia hacia la posición
intermedia del continuo, pero con afinidad con el compromiso, especialmente en lo que
se refiere a la deixis de autor y al compromiso con el tema.
73
4.3 EL CONTINUO FORMALIDAD E INFORMALIDAD
El tópico de la formalidad-informalidad fue medido en nuestro estudio con base
en siete rasgos diferentes tanto en el nivel lexical como sintáctico.
4.3.1 Vocabulario
Para dar cuenta del grado de formalidad e informalidad, en cuanto al vocabulario
utilizado en nuestro corpus, elaboramos una lista de palabras más frecuentes que se
utilizan en los textos. Con ayuda del programa Wordsmith, elaboramos esta lista que nos
permite conocer un rasgo tan relevante del léxico, como lo es por ejemplo, la riqueza del
vocabulario utilizado.
Por medio del análisis computarizado llegamos a los siguientes resultados:
Cuadro 13: Frecuencia total de palabras en el corpus:
Frecuencia total de palabras en el corpus
Tokens (palabras)
18.927
Types (vocablos)
2.713
Type/token ratio (proporción vocablo/palabra)
0,1433
Se habla de type, traducido al español como vocablo, cuando nos referimos al
número de palabras diferentes que aparecen en el corpus (2.713). Hablamos de token,
traducido al español como palabra, cuando nos referimos al total de empleos de las
palabras en el texto (18.927).
Cuando estudiamos la relación entre las palabras diferentes (vocablos) y el total
de palabras obtenemos un indicador de la densidad léxica de los textos. Es decir, cuando
dividimos el número de vocablos entre el número de palabras obtenemos un ratio o
proporción de la riqueza de palabras en nuestro corpus. Si esta proporción es igual a la
unidad, significa que la variación léxica es máxima, porque ninguna palabra se repite. En
nuestro corpus, el ratio es de 0,1433, el cual según los estudiosos coincide con la
proporción que comúnmente tiene la conversación coloquial (Briz, 2000: 115). Esto nos
indica que la densidad léxica de nuestro corpus tiende a ser baja.
74
Una lista de las palabras más frecuentes confirma lo anteriormente expuesto pues,
luego de las palabras invariables que naturalmente son las más frecuentes, encontramos
palabras neutrales o no marcadas. Es decir, en relación con la informalidad y formalidad
lexical encontramos un grado importante de neutralidad:
Palabra
The
And
To
In
Of
Is
A
That
They
Love
Are
We
It
Have
Her
Not
She
For
With
Can
This
As
Be
People
But
I
Women
Or
Their
Because
Was
He
Which
On
By
Sex
Men
About
Who
Frecuencia
Palabra
Frecuencia
Palabra
Frecuencia
999
656
560
502
474
449
445
391
220
209
202
195
176
168
158
154
148
133
126
125
123
118
118
110
106
106
104
101
99
98
98
88
83
82
78
78
76
75
75
Do
So
All
Has
When
Woman
One
You
An
Life
Society
Them
His
If
Some
Venezuela
Also
How
There
More
Our
Time
Many
Us
Very
Could
Different
Like
Australia
Other
What
At
My
Things
Think
Both
These
Only
Way
Even
68
68
65
65
59
58
57
57
56
56
Just
Same
Wife
Important
Make
Most
Song
Person
See
Countries
Don’t
Population
Fact
Feel
Man
Marriage
Country
Husband
Say
Something
However
Alone
Finally
First
Get
Human
Married
Know
Me
New
Take
Essay
Feeling
Always
No
Why
Relation
Social
Big
Someone
37
37
37
36
36
36
35
34
33
32
32
31
30
30
30
28
27
27
27
26
24
23
23
23
23
23
22
21
21
21
21
20
56
56
55
53
49
49
48
48
48
47
47
47
44
44
44
43
42
42
41
41
41
40
40
40
40
39
39
38
38
37
19
18
18
18
17
17
16
16
75
Palabra
Frecuencia
Palabra
Frecuencia
Palabra
Frecuencia
Cultural
It’s
Sexual
Your
Emotion
Etc
American
Better
Culture
Doesn’t
Gender
Its
Learn
Piano
Poor
Seems
Though
Must
Natural
Never
Now
Relationship
Should
Would
Almost
Bad
Biological
Caribbean
Conclusion
Real
Beautiful
Happy
Hard
Little
Similar
Eveybody
Look
Much
Perhaps
Romantic
Such
Talk
Thought
Black
Geographical
15
15
15
15
14
14
13
13
Intelligent
Opinion
Somebody
Bigger
British
Economical
Material
Strange
Author
English
I’m
Male
Movement
Necessary
Principal
Regarding
Text
Although
Class
Colored
Difficult
Easy
Ever
Everything
Free
Fundamental
Indeed
Nevertheless
Sad
Understand
Usually
Virtual
America
Anti
Criticism
Developed
Hiden
Interesting
Next
Small
Superficial
Wonderful
Worse
Becomes
Ask
Clearly
8
8
8
7
7
7
7
7
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
3
3
3
Completely
Chauvinistic
Enough
Female
Feminist
Glad
Mental
Occidental
Relevant
Aggressive
Analysis
Behaviour
Besides
Best
Brainwashed
Central
Couldn’t
Everytime
Fucking
Responsible
Negative
Particularly
Perfectly
Whatever
Therefore
Thoughtless
Traditional
Unfaithful
Viscius
Virginity
Wisdom
Woman’s
Wonderful
Worried
Yourself
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
l
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
13
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
11
11
11
11
11
11
10
10
10
10
10
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
8
8
76
Resulta interesante que palabras como: love, women, sex, men, woman, life y
society entre otras, se ubiquen en las primeras posiciones de frecuencia. Esto resalta que
de hecho los temas del amor y género son los más resaltantes para los alumnos y, como lo
comprueba la longitud de los ensayos, son además los tratados más extensamente.
4.3.2 Muletillas:
Aplicando el mismo razonamiento a los demás rasgos que hemos estudiado,
especialmente en el nivel lexical, observamos que la tendencia es hacia la posición
intermedia en el uso a excepción de las muletillas y frases que permiten controlar el flujo
de la información. Éstos son rasgos de la modalidad oral que pueden ser atribuibles a la
diferencia medial entre oral y escrito y a la diferencia de posición local y temporal de
ambas modalidades. Dado que ambas llenan los espacios o reformulaciones en proceso en
la modalidad oral o para chequear el canal de comunicación, se consideran prototípicas
de lo oral. Este principio se comprueba en cierto modo en nuestro estudio, pues tanto las
muletillas como las frases que permiten controlar el flujo de información, tienen una
frecuencia bastante baja en el corpus. Es decir, un 72% no usa muletillas y un 86% no
usa señales de control de flujo de información.
Chafe (1987) reporta las muletillas sort of, kind of, somethig like y and so on. De
éstas, encontramos que en un 28% de los ensayos se usa sort of 3.8%, kind of en un 7.6%,
y and so on en un 11.5%. En nuestro análisis encontramos otros tipos de muletillas,
como: etc con un 23%, something con un 3.8%, everybody con un 26.9%, a lot of con un
15.3% y some kind of con un 3.8%. Hemos clasificado los ensayos en los que no aparece
tipo alguno de muletillas o flujo como formales, los cuales tienen un 72%, los que usan
en su mayoría los propuestos por Chafe (1987) con un 21% como informales y los que
usan los que hemos encontrado en nuestro análisis como intermedias, o posiciones
intermedias con un 26%.
Cuadro 14:Muletillas
Señales
Sort of
Kind of
Something like
And so on
Etc
Something
Everybody
A lot of
Some kind of
Absoluto
Observaciones
3.8%
7.6%
3.8%
3.8%
23%
3.8%
3.8%
15.3%
3.8%
1
2
1
1
5
1
1
4
1
4.3.3 Frases que permiten controlar el flujo de la información:
En el caso de las frases que permiten controlar el flujo de información ocurre
prácticamente lo mismo que con las muletillas. Decimos que ‘prácticamente’ porque en
este caso se mantiene que la mayoría de los ensayos no usa este tipo de frases (un 86%)
pero cambia el hecho de que sólo encontramos un tipo adicional de frase, at all, que
ocurre tan sólo en un ensayo y tiene un 14.2%. Hablamos en este caso de absolutos ya
que nos permite hacer notar la frecuencia bajísima de este rasgo. Let’s es usado en 2
ensayos (28.5%) al igual que I mean y now. Si observamos ahora este rasgo desde la
óptica de la formalidad e informalidad encontramos que un 86% de los estudiantes hacen
un uso formal en sus ensayos, mientras que en un 8% y 6% de los ensayos el uso es
informal e intermedio respectivamente.
Cuadro 15: Frases que permiten controlar el flujo de información:
Frases
I mean
Now
Let’s
At all
Señales
2
2
2
1
Observaciones
28.5%
28.5%
28.5%
14.2%
4.3.4 Partículas enfáticas:
El último rasgo del nivel lexical tiene que ver con las llamadas partículas enfáticas
o palabras por medio de las cuales se busca resaltar algún aspecto de la oración. En un
37% de los ensayos no se usa ningún tipo de partículas; y del 62% que las usan su
78
distribución es la siguiente: Just y really son usadas en un 17.7% y 6.4% de los ensayos.
Estas partículas fueron también encontradas por Chafe (1987) y son para nosotros afines
con la informalidad. Nuevamente, encontramos un uso frecuente de partículas distintas a
las propuestas por Chafe y que en nuestro corpus aparecen con una frecuencia
importante: Por ejemplo, la partícula even aparece en un 22.5% de los ensayos y es la
más usada por los estudiantes. Luego de analizar las partículas enfáticas observamos que
en un 38% de los ensayos el uso es formal, puesto que no aparecen partículas. Un 56%
tiene una posición intermedia, ya que usa en general varias de las partículas no marcadas
que conseguimos como in fact 9.6% y very con un 14.5%, mientras que un 6% fue
clasificado como informal.
Cuadro 16: Partículas enfáticas
Partícula
Just
Really
Even
Only
Chiefly
Above all
Of course
In fact
Very
Pretty
Furthermore
Also
Moreover
Actually
Specially
Absoluto
Observaciones
11
4
14
2
2
1
4
6
9
1
1
3
1
1
1
17.7
6.4%
22.5%
3.22%
3.22%
1.6%
6.4%
9.6%
14.5%
1.6%
1.6%
4.8%
1.6%
1.6%
1.6%
4.3.5 Conectores ilativos y causales en posición inicial:
En el nivel sintáctico analizamos tres aspectos. El primero también identificado
como característico del habla oral es el uso de conjunciones coordinativas y causales en
posición inicial o una sucesión considerablemente larga de oraciones unidas de este
modo. La oralidad se caracteriza por el uso de la coordinación como una forma de enlazar
a rápida velocidad las oraciones. El uso de estas conjunciones es revelador pues aparecen
en un 82% de los ensayos, lo cual nos muestra que, a pesar de que estudiamos textos
escritos, aparece profusamente esta característica más propia de la oralidad.
79
De los conectores causales y coordinativos, el más usado es and con un 32.8%, le
siguen so con un 27%, but con 18.57% y finalmente because con un 5.7%. Encontramos
además en el corpus otras tres conjunciones, tales como also 12.8%, y or e if con 1.4%.
De lo anterior se desprende que la mayoría de los ensayos presentan un uso intermedio
de estos conectores (48%), dado que se tiende a combinar largas oraciones con varios de
estos conectores menos marcados.
Ejemplos:
(48) All prejudices are difficult to take out because we have grown up with them,
and these have been the fear of those women who treated to fight for their rights. But it
was a chauvinistic war…(TC5)
(49) So people do not dare see their senses and they have the inability to
conmmunicate with each other (TA2)
(50) In the relationship of the external aspect, sex, possession and dependency
supplant love, but this only happens if people do not know their true being and then their
relationship stay on the periphery (TA3)
(51) In fact a perfect equality won´t be possible if there´s not and enough number
of men without losing their masculinity accept feminine jobs like nurses, secretaries, etc,
and enjoy the housework and accept to take care of the children, but the most important
thing is that they can do all these activities with the same natureality as women. (TD5)
(52) people are living their lives according to what they have instead of what they
are, worrying about material things, the appereance, things that seem real but they are
actually fake because they don´t really matter and they are not going to last forever. So,
we are insane because of virtual things. (TH2)
Cuadro 17:Conectores en posición inicial
Conectore
s
And
But
So
Absolut
o
Porcentaje
23
13
19
32.8%
18.57%
2
7%
Because
Also
Or
If
4
9
1
1
5.7%
12.8%
1.4%
1.4%
80
4.3.6 Conectores:
Para estudiar el uso que hacen los estudiantes de los conectores, comenzamos por
definir los grupos de conectores a analizar: ilativos, causales, finales, concesivos,
condicionales, adversativos, cambio de tópico, organizativos, contrastivos y consecutivos.
Con el fin de estudiar cuáles eran los tipos de conectores usados con más
frecuencia, procedimos a medir en cuántos ensayos se usaba cada tipo de conector:
Cuadro 18:Uso de conectores según sus tipos:
Tipos de conector
Causal
Final
Concesivo
Condicional
Ilativo
Adversativo
Cambio de tópico (talking about, regarding...)
Organizativos (First, second)
Contrastivos
Consecutivos(resultado)
Absolutos
Porcentajes
38/50
11/50
9/50
22/50
49/50
39/50
13/50
21/50
14/50
29/50
7.6%
2.2%
1.8%
4.4%
9.8%
7.8%
2.6%
4.2%
2.8%
5.8%
De lo anterior se deduce fácilmente que hay una preferencia en los estudiantes por
los procedimientos agregativos y coordinativos, pues el tipo de conector más usado es el
ilativo, con un 9.8%. Le siguen luego en frecuencia los adversativos y causales con 7.8% y
7.6% respectivamente. Destaca también el hecho de que los menos frecuentes son los
concesivos, contrastivos y organizativos, que son considerados tradicionalmente como más
característicos de la escrituralidad.
Posteriormente estudiamos dentro de cada grupo de conector cuáles conectores eran
más frecuentes:
Cuadro 19: Uso de conectores en los ensayos:
Conector:
CAUSAL
Because:
For that reason:
In consequence:
Since:
Therefore:
Porcentaje según el tipo de
conector
32/38
4/38
2/38
1/38
1/38
78%
9.75%
4.8
2.4%
2.4%
Porcentaje del
total
10.9%
1.3%
0.6%
0.3%
0.3%
81
FINAL
CONCESIVO
CONDICIONAL
ILATIVO
ADVERSATIVO
CAMBIO DE
TOPICO
ORGANIZATIVO
CONTRASTIVO
CONSECUTIVO
As:
In order to:
Though:
Although:
Even though:
If
When
First_____Then
Whether
And
Also
Or
In addition
Besides
As well as
But
However
Nevertheless
Not only but
On the other hand
In terms of
About
Regarding
When it comes to
Talking about
First
In conclusion
Finally
Secondly
While
Instead
In contrast
On the contrary
So
Then
In consequence
Thus
But then
consequently
1/38
11/11
2/9
3/9
5/9
20/22
1/22
1/22
1/22
47/49
12/49
11/49
1/49
1/49
2/49
36/39
16/39
2/39
3/39
6/13
2/13
1/13
4/13
1/13
1/13
6/21
6/21
9/21
2/21
10/14
1/14
2/14
1/14
22/29
9/29
1/29
1/29
1/29
1/29
2.4%
100%
20%
30%
50%
86.9%
4.3%
4.3%
4.3%
63.5%
16.2%
14.8%
1.3%
1.3%
2.7%
63.15%
28%
3.5%
5.2%
40%
13.3%
6.6%
26.6%
6.6%
6.6%
26%
26%
39%
8.6%
71.4%
7%
14.2%
7%
62.8%
25.7%
2.8%
2.8%
2.8%
2.8%
0.3%
3.7%
0.61%
1%
1.7%
6.8%
0.3%
0.3%
0.3%
16%
4.1%
3.7%
0.3%
0.3%
0.6%
12.3%
5.4%
0.61%
1%
2.05%
0.6%
0.3%
1.36%
0.3%
0.3%
2.05%
2.05%
3%
0.6%
3.42%
0.3%
0.6%
0.3%
7.53%
3%
0.3%
0.3%
0.3%
0.3%
A continuación presentamos un gráfico en el que se insertan seis ensayos
representativos del continuo formalidad-informalidad:
Gráfico 4: El continuo de formalidad-informalidad
Formalidad
F2
I3
Informalidad
H3
C1
B5
G5
82
Los ensayos F2 e I3 son representativos del polo de la formalidad en nuestro
corpus. En I3 encontramos un variado uso de conectores concesivos, causales,
consecutivos e ilativos, el vocabulario además presenta un grado interesante de variedad
y resalta además la ausencia de muletillas y frases controladoras del flujo de información.
En F2 encontramos un ejemplo muy representativo del grupo, pues está en el polo de la
formalidad, aunque no tiene una variedad tan amplia de conectores, pero el vocabulario
usado y la ausencia de muletillas, frases que controlan el flujo de información y partículas
enfáticas lo acercan al polo de la formalidad.
F2
Essay
"We wait and we wonder"
"We wait and we wonder" is a song that was written by Phil Collins the last few
month of 1993. Produced and performed by the britain singer and actor , it was
published on the album "Both Sides" and it can be considered as a song which was
made in order to make us realize and analize how far some people can go to achieve
its purposes and how destructive can it be for the whole world.
At the beginning the author shows the reaction of those who face up terrorist attacks
and cannot understand what is happening and how a person or a group of people can
use violence or threats to intimidate a society.
Regarding to the second stanza we can notice that through the phrase "Killing the
old, the innocent, the young" Collins tries to show that there are not limits to
terrorists. No mercy, they go as far as possible regardless of what of what they do is
wrong. In addition, it seems that those attacks, which fill with terror lot of citizens,
will never be over because as the author says "… sons follow in fathers footsteps not
understanding that what they do could somehow be so wrong", which shows that,
unfortunately, they are children or teenagers who learn what they've always seen,
who learn to dominate or coerce by using violence for purposes that most of the time
they do not understand. Thus, they grow learning that to terrorize or to take
someone's life is almost normal, so they become "brave heroes" that "only hit and
run", better said, coward men who dominate or even kill innocent people not
claiming responsibility for their actions.
On the other hand, it can be seen that Collins tries to make analyse listeners be
making questions in his chores: "So tell me when will it be over now, how soon?
How far must we go, to prove to you?". The author expects us to realize that
terrorism and its means can become at any moment so familiar that we will think of
it as something normal but then something even worse or more destructive will
happen to prove to us how far can some people go for their convictions.
Thus, as the singer says, we just wait and wonder what will happen because it
seems that there is not place for tolerance, compassion or understanding while
innocent people die around the world.
I3
What is the relation between love and sex, and between love and marriage?
Essay
Love is defined as a very strong feeling or affection toward someone who you are
romantically or sexually attracted to, and who is very important to you. The relation
between love, sex and marriage has a relevant role throughout history.
83
According to some anthropologists, people who lived before the Middle Age got
together to build a family without knowing the meaning of love. Most of their
marriages were arranged by their parents ignoring if their sons and daughters felt
something about their couples. So, they argue that most of the Non-Occidental
societies and cultures never knew what is love, because it was invented five or six
centuries ago by the West society during the Middle Age. In that moment, people
began to talked about it, but that kind of love was related to a forbidden love or a
Courtly love.
The Occidental religion approves that people can have sex as long as they are
married, because it means that those couples will preserve human beings. Also, the
religion has stablished that people first get married and then have sex. So, if a couple
had sex without being married, the society and the church would judge them for
perverts and sinners, 'cause they infringed two of the most relevant religion's laws
which are the marriage or social union and the woman virginity.
Although the church accepts sexual relations, people remained skeptical to talk about
love and sex, because they considered that those topics were sinful and shameful.
In the Renaissance; philosophers, poets, etc expressed their emotions without any
social and moral repression. Since then until right now, people are more open-mind,
because they are careless about what the religion thinks, and they care more about
human relations in the society. This absent of faith makes the marriage less
important as an social role.
Talking about the relation between love and sex, and between love and marriage.
The first one is a mixture of personal satisfaction and social approve. Love as a
chemical and learned emotion set in people's mind and a game of likes is preceded
by sex. People fall in love in order to satisfy their needs, to have fun, to be a healthy
citizen, etc; but it doesn't mean that everybody has sex with everyone to feel good.
Normally, people fall in love and have sex only with someone that he or she
considers the most appropiate couple; otherwise it is like using or exploring
someone.
The other relation happens when some couples want to keep the traditional basic
union of the society which are marriage and the family; and when they accept to live
as a couple for ever and ever.
Even though the society is love-oriented, and marriage-oriented, people can choose if
they want to be married or not, because marriage does not represent completely the
synonym of social and economical security, social respect and procreation. After the
lose of faith in religion and the women emancipation, these three characteristics have
lost their real meaning. Women don't have to get married looking for economical
help anymore, because they can work, can be self-sufficient and can be single
mother. People can live as concubines and can divorce plenty of times from their
couples.
In my point of view, I consider that the most common relation is love and sex,
because most of case marriage destroys the couple's relation, the magic of being in
love will become a family's compulsory and it will mean the end of the person's
freedom.
In conclusion, people fall in love, have sex and live together without any sort of
social judgement, and each culture has its own point of view about love.
En este continuo, el ensayo H3 es más cercano a la informalidad, pues en él
abundan los conectores ilativos y causales en posición inicial, las partículas just y really,
a la vez que hay poca presencia de otros tipos de conectores.
H3
84
The relationship between love, sex and marriage.
Scientists all over the world have been concerned about love, sex and marriage
for a long time, they have studied each one of them in many different cultures and
after their studies and research, they found themselves in the chicken/egg dilemma:
Which came first, sex or love?
To answer this question they have to consider the natural sexual instinct of the
human being, the main purpose of having sex was the procreation, just like animals,
the man looks for the right woman, then they have sex and later the children will
arrive. But there is another purpose of sex: the pleasure. Men not only look for
women, but for the ones thy like. So, it seems that sex is made to satisfy an animal
instinct or a need. When did love come to the scene?
When people fall in love, sex seems to be the final prove to their love, not only
physical but the spiritual union, the moment when their love is complete not just
because they really know each other but also because they have abandoned all their
pride, their fear, their shame, their prejudices and they have let themselves go with
that feeling and with that perfect person. So, a person may have sex with many
people, but they can even forget it if those were just physical experiences, all of that
goes away when they actually make love to that person that they want to be with, not
only to have sex, but to share their lives for as much time as they want.
Sometimes, people feel that they want to be together all the time and they decide
to get married. They might think that love is all they need to be happy but they need
"true" love which includes understanding, patience, communication, cooperation,
consideration, etc, elements that are essential to make a successful marriage, to make
it last for a long time and to make the couple strong in the difficult moments and
when they are not only a couple, but also parents.
Finally, we can say that love is the basis, the fundamental feeling that can make
everything work; sex and marriage exist, but they are even more beautiful
experiences and they can teach us more valuable lessons if love is included.
El ensayo C1 da un paso más hacia la informalidad, pues en él hay un uso frecuente
de conectores coordinativos y causales con una frecuencia alta, pero conserva aun rasgos
de formalidad, tales como la ausencia de muletillas y frases que controlan el flujo de la
información, las señales enfáticas utilizadas en cambio,
son más bien neutrales o
intermedias como only.
C1
The short story the drover's wife and the film "Piano" show us many aspects that
would be interesting to compare or analize. The two stories relate the "life" of two
women: Ada in Piano, and that woman in the drover's wife (we do not know her
name). Both are alone and lonely. Ada in her silent world and the drover's wife in her
home. They are married but their husbands frequently are out of their homes. One of
them takes care of his lands, and the other one with his sheeps. For that reason, the
women must survive on their own. The two stories have children. Those children are
very important in the lives of Ada and the drover's wife. Ada's girl is her companion,
her friend, is who can understand her. Ada only "speaks" or has communication with
her daughter. It is the same with the children in the drover's wife. There is not adults
in that land, so the children are her friends and nobody else.
Also, we have some differences that are important to highlight. For example, sex
is important in Piano, but not in the drover's wife, but I think that in the drover's wife
there is no sex because there is no man. For that reason we say that she can't live
without a man, of coarse, she shows us that she can live alone. However, Ada finds
85
another man who gives her love and that aid that she needs. Ada is radical because
she breaks rules of society, the drover's wife only sits reading her magazine, she
doesn't do anything in order to change her way.
El ensayo C1 es representativo de la informalidad en un modo muy emblemático en
nuestro corpus, pues en él no hay uso de muletillas, y tan sólo hay una señal de énfasis.
Sin embargo, el vocabulario utilizado, el tratamiento y el uso encadenado de conectores
nos muestra un alto grado de informalidad. En el corpus encontramos un gran número de
ensayos que oscilan entre los ensayos C1 y B5, en los que la combinación de estos tres
elementos (vocabulario, conectores y tratamiento del tema) crean una sensación de
informalidad.
B5
Woman
The fight of women for taking part in the society began to appear in the middle
of the 19th century. It will be a hard fight in order to defend their rights, ideals and
dreams. In other words, I think that it was a way that could be called "the right to
integration"
I think that the path of women in recent times, in my opinion, can be divided in
six parts: sexuality, birth rate, job, vote, politics, fashion and beauty.
One of the problems for women in the beginning was the love relation. It wasn't
easy, the couple couldn't feel passionately in love in front with others present.
However, I admire them because in that moment they had to face up to the sharp
criticism and to gather up one's courage.
In the same way, birth rate had become something holy. Women had to face up
to criticism and judgement. Prevention was sinful and the person that practiced it
was sinner. This aspect is indeed a good example of courage for men which are
sometimes coward in relation to their responsabilities as a fathers.
On the other hand, women had the pressing need of working. So, industrial
revolution was a good opportunity to show their power.
As we know, the vote was a part of integration in the society. In this case,
women had to be very courageous, because angry crowds came and threw tomatoes,
eggs at them.
Many women went to prison there they refused to eat, and so to break the law.
Thus viewed, I think that men can not judge women by saying that they are
emotional and not stronger and less intelligent.
Finally, I think that women had because a strong competitor which helped her to
come across really well in business. I say that not only the white woman has taken
part in fashion and beauty but also the black woman. This has established an
important precedent that shows women as an important actor in the field of fashion
and industry and what's more, to take important decisions.
Ahora bien, el ensayo G5, el cual se ubica en el polo máximo de la informalidad,
es un caso que hubiera podido ser ubicado en cualquiera de los continuos que hemos
tratado hasta ahora, lo hemos situado en este continuo, dada la naturaleza del vocabulario
utilizado y dado el uso prácticamente exclusivo de la conjunción and -la otra conjunción
86
que aparece una vez únicamente es but. Resalta en este texto la falta de planificación,
pues no se sigue el tema asignado, y el grado de compromiso que se evidencia en la
borrosa línea entre el sujeto narrador y el sujeto de la acción que se narra. Encontramos
también opiniones explícitas y específicamente, en el caso del continuo que nos ocupa, se
observa el uso informal del vocabulario y de los conectores, y la presencia del pronombre
personal I , característico de las conversaciones informales.
G5
Essay about "Eurotrash"
I spend my weekend reading that short novel a sad story about relation between
strange couples a scotish citticen which was living in Denmark.
The action beguin when our leading man the "Gallant" find in a bar a strange
couple which were drinking and talking. The women "Cris" was a repulsive type
with a whore looking- aspect and the man "Mike" didn't feel very happy about my
intromission in their conversation and relation.
Criss proposed go for a beach walk next day and I accepted.
At the walk criss asked me to drive her home which I did with some jelous and
reluctant actitude from Mike.
Arriving her home she took some hachis and proposed some anal sex arguing
that her cunt have some problem related with an improper use in the past.
She put me some Jelly in my dick and asked me to fuck her anus. During the
following days we spend some time together with Mike, but I was not very happy
with that relation and tell "Criss" that I don't want any serious compromisse.
I was taking some Dutch classes to improve my language.
I begin a nice relation with a young and pretty girl set in opposition to the ugly
and vicious "Criss" and let other behind.
In one opportunity Criss catch me with Ana and perform an ugly scene "TAKE
YOUR FUCKING LITTLE SLUT AND GO BAK YOUR SILLY LITTLE GIRL
YOU FUCKING PAEDOPHILE I'M A REAL WOMAN"
Then that I heard a notice that a body of a woman had been found in a channel
by central station.
And receive a visit from Mike who recriminate me for murdering "Criss" and
related the real story about his relation with Criss they were lovers and bouth males
and Criss performed a sex change operation, a very traumatic one which caused her
great distress and make her a drug-adict by the consumption of drugs on the
painkilling at her operation.
It was not clear if Criss dead was a suicide or an accident or an dark area
between both.
I went to the funeral and met her fathers.
Is this Eurotrash or people looking for their spunge identity.
La representación gráfica del continuo y los datos analizados nos permiten ver que
en los ensayos en un grado mayoritario muestran una posición intermedia, con una
tendencia importante hacia la informalidad.
87
4.4 CUADRO RESUMEN
En los cuadros 20 y 21 presentamos en forma resumida las estrategias más usadas
en los diversos continuos que hemos estudiado. Este cuadro nos ayuda a visualizar
resumidamente la forma en que los 50 estudiantes en sus textos combinan las estrategias.
Estos cuadros resumen nos sirven de apoyo a la hora de vaciar los datos encontrados en
las matrices anteriores en la próxima matriz de inmediatez y distancia comunicativa.
Hemos señalado con el símbolo “=” los casos en que las estrategias tenían una frecuencia
igual o muy cercana en nuestro análisis, y en los casos restantes, hemos escrito
simplemente la estrategia usada con más frecuencia por cada estudiante.
Cuadro 20: Resumen de las estrategias por estudiante
Continuo
Estrategia
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
Sí = Int
Sí
Sí
Sí
Sí
Sí
No
Sí
Sí
Sí
Int
Int
No
No
No
No
No
Int
Int
No =
Int
Comp
Comp
Int
Int
Comp
= Int
Comp
Int
Comp
Comp
Lector
Dist
Int
Dist =
Comp
Dist
Dist
Dist
Int
Comp
Dist
miento
Tema
Comp
Dist
Comp
Comp
=
Dist
Dist
=
Int
Comp
Dist
Comp
Comp
Comp
Comp
Forma
Voca
bulario
Muletillas
Flujo
Int
Int
Int
Col =
Int
Int
Col =
Int
Int
Comp
+ Dist
Int
Int
Col
Form
Form
Form
Form
Int
Form
Form
Form
Int
Form
Form
Form
Form
Form
Form
Form
Form
Form
Form
Int
For
m
For
m
Inf.
=
Int
Int
Form
Int
Form
Int
Int
Inf.
Int
Int
Int
Int
Form
=
Int
Inf.
Inf.
= Int
Inf
Inf. =
Int
Planifica
ción
Compro
miso /
Distancia
lidad
Tarea
Organización
Autor
informa
Énfasis
Int
Int
lidad
Conectores
En posición
inicial
Conectores
Inf
Int
Form =
Int
Inf
Int
Form
Int
Form =
Int
Int
En el cuadro 20 encontramos el resumen de las estrategias más frecuentes por
estudiante, y en el próximo cuadro encontramos un resumen general de las estrategias
más frecuentes de todos nuestros 50 ensayos como grupo. Ambos cuadros reflejan la
88
importante tendencia hacia una posición intermedia, pero siempre cercana a la no
planificación e informalidad, y la marcada tendencia hacia el compromiso.
Cuadro 21: Resumen de las estrategias en total:
Continuo
Estrategia
Frecuencia
Se ciñen
Planificación
Absoluto
Porcentaje
Absoluto
Porcentaje
Absoluto
Porcentaje
36/50
72%
9/50
22%
5/50
10%
Organizaci
Absoluto
Porcentaje
Absoluto
Porcentaje
Absoluto
Porcentaje
ón
6/50
12%
24/50
48%
20/50
40%
Deixis
Intermedia
Compromiso
Distanciamiento
Porcentaje
Absoluto
Porcentaje
Absoluto
Porcentaje
Autor
26/50
52%
17/50
34%
7/50
14%
Lector
9/50
18%
14/50
28%
27/50
54%
Tema
11/50
22%
8/50
16%
31/50
54%
Informalidad
Informalidad
Intermedia
No
Absoluto
Compromiso
Formalidad
No
Tarea
Sí
Distanciamiento
Intermedia
Intermedia
Formalidad
Absoluto
Porcentaje
Absoluto
Porcentaje
Absoluto
Porcentaje
12/50
24%
3/50
70%
3/50
6%
Muletilla
1/50
2%
13/50
26%
36/50
72%
Flujo
4/50
8%
3/50
6%
43/50
86%
Énfasis
3/50
6%
28/50
56%
19/50
38%
Sintáctico
17/50
34%
24/50
48%
9/50
18%
Conectores
13/50
26%6
28/50
56%
9/50
18%
Léxico
4.5 EL CONTINUO INMEDIATEZ-DISTANCIA COMUNICATIVA
89
La matriz que elaboramos para recoger los datos que nos apoyaran en nuestro
análisis se basan en las nociones de Oesterreicher sobre la inmediatez y distancia
comunicativa (Oesterreicher, 1996),
e integra los datos que se desprenden de la
información recolectada en las matrices anteriores (ver cuadros 20y 21). El criterio para
llenar la matriz ha sido el de mayor frecuencia, ya que es esta la única manera de llegar a
generalizaciones lo suficientemente manejables para “dejarnos generalizar” sin correr el
riesgo de olvidar detalles importantes. En pocas palabras, llegaremos a los parámetros de
situación comunicativa que nos permitirán reconstruir el polo para el que fue concebido
el texto y el tipo de concepción que impera en los mismos tomando en cuenta los rasgos
con mayor frecuencia del análisis anterior.
En los parámetros sobre la situación de comunicación que se desprenden de las
señales de compromiso y distanciamiento, observamos que impera el compromiso, es
decir las estrategias que apuntan hacia el acercamiento con la audiencia. En el cuadro 22
vemos que las señales de grado de intimidad (que se desprenden de las experiencias y
sentimientos personales) y en la deixis de lector son los únicos casos en los que
predomina el distanciamiento, pues pocos ensayos incluyen experiencias personales, o
apelan directamente al lector. Estos dos parámetros coinciden con la noción tradicional
que tenemos del texto escrito (especialmente en el ámbito universitario y académico).
Ahora bien, en la deixis de autor, el tipo de referencia y el grado de participación
emocional, especialmente con respecto al tema, impera el compromiso, algo que se
contrapone a las nociones anteriormente nombradas de texto escrito. Este predominio del
compromiso se evidencia en las opiniones explícitas, palabras evaluativas y expresión de
certeza y cautela en los textos que hemos estudiado en detalle anteriormente. En resumen,
predomina el compromiso del autor consigo mismo y con el tema. ¿A qué se debe este
compromiso? Si los alumnos respetan la “norma” de no incluir abiertamente experiencias
personales y no apelar directamente al lector, ¿por qué se inclinan entonces en los demás
aspectos hacia un marcado compromiso?
En lo que se refiere a la planificación y no planificación, estudiados a partir del
grado de cooperación y del grado de fijación y determinación del tema, impera una
planificación intermedia. Es decir, en un 72% se ciñen los estudiantes a lo que se les pide,
90
pero de ese 72% un 40% lo hace de forma libre y en un 60% de una forma más bien
rigurosa. Algo similar ocurre con la organización explícita de los ensayos. En un 48% la
hay de forma intermedia, en un 12% la hay explícitamente y en un 40% no la hay. Esta
posición intermedia nos muestra en consecuencia que, y valga aquí una metáfora muy
coloquial, los ensayos se encuentran a medio camino entre ser un texto planificado y no
serlo. ¿De qué nos sirve esto a la hora de hablar sobre la concepción y el polo? Nos sirve
para observar que este tipo de texto estudiado se acerca a ser uno de los llamados textos
híbridos o invertidos (Oesterreicher, 1996b), en los que el medio es gráfico, pero la
concepción es oral.
En lo concerniente al grado de espontaneidad, que medimos a nivel lexical y
sintáctico en las matrices sobre formalidad e informalidad, vemos nuevamente que
impera la posición intermedia. En tan sólo tres casos hablamos de una informalidad
marcada y en un sólo caso hablamos de formalidad, los casos restantes caen en el renglón
de los intermedios.
Algo muy parecido ocurre a nivel sintáctico, donde no hablamos de informalidad
en ningún caso, sólo hablamos de mayoría de posiciones intermedias.
En todos los niveles tratados, hemos tomado en cuenta el hecho de que nuestro
corpus ha sido producido por hablantes de una lengua extranjera. Hemos tenido en cuenta
a lo largo del trabajo como norte la idea de que no se habla de errores o problemas, sino
de señales que dan cuenta de la situación comunicativa, y por ende del polo para el que
fue concebido el ensayo y de la concepción del mismo. No en vano se ha dejado de lado
el tema de los errores gramaticales en el corpus. De allí que hagamos un alto y
explicitemos que a nuestro parecer los tres niveles responden a dos problemáticas
distintas que se manifiestan de forma diferente en los ensayos. En el nivel lexical y
gramatical la falta de adecuación patente en varios textos, bien podría deberse a la falta
de competencia lingüística de los estudiantes. Pero, en el nivel de la planificación y del
compromiso y del distanciamiento, y de la formalidad e informalidad también,
observamos que bien puede deberse a la poca o falta de competencia “académica” del
estudiante o como Ventola (1996) lo llamara la poca “socialización” en
91
Cuadro 22: Inmediatez-distancia comunicativa y la situación comunicativa: vaciado de los continuos de planificación-no planificación, compromiso-distanciamiento, formalidadinformalidad.
E
S
T
U
D
I
A
N
T
E
Grado de
intimidad
Incluye
experiencias
sentimientos
sí
A
no
+
√
√
-
√
B
C
Grado de
participación
emocional
Com
Distan
pro
cia
miso
miento
√
+
-
√
Tipo de referencia
Objetos
temp
loc
Comp
√
√
√
√
√
D
√
√
E
F
√
√
√
√
√
√
G
√
√
√
√
H
√
=
I
√
√
√
J
√
La mayoría
No los
incluye
√
√
T
O
T
A
L
62%
Int
22%
Compromiso
16%
Distanciamiento
√
C=D
√
√
C=I
Dist
Comp
int
Dist
√
√
La
mayoría
tiene
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
54%
distanciamiento
Form
+
-
int
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
52%
compromiso
Organización
Anuncios
explícitos
Sí int No
√
√
√
√
Se ciñe
la tarea
asignada
Sí No
√
√
C=D
√
D=I
√
√
I
int
Deixis de
lector
√
C=D
√
√
√
Grado de espontaneidad
Tema
Personal
Deixis de
autor
√
C
Grado de cooperación
√
√
√
√
√
√
72%
si se
ciñe
√
48%
no la hay
Inf
+
-
Form
int
+
-
√
√
√
+
int
Inf
+
-
Lo sigue
int
Li
bre
Rigu
rosa
√
√
√
-
√
√
I=C
√
√
√
C=I
√
+
√
+
√
+
+
70%
intermedia
No
lo
sigue
√
√
√
+
√
√
√
I=F
√56%
intermedia
√
√
√
√
La mayoría
Lo hace
de una forma
rigurosa
92
el mundo académico. Es por ello que reiteramos que en nuestra investigación no
buscamos errores sino más bien hablamos de estados, situaciones, de continuos.
Con ayuda del cuadro anterior podemos finalmente hablar de la ubicación de los
ensayos en el continuo de inmediatez-distancia comunicativa y del perfil concepcional
del texto. De todo nuestro análisis textual anterior se desprende que nos encontramos ante
textos escritos que se acercan al polo de la inmediatez comunicativa.
En general podemos decir, con base en nuestro minucioso análisis anterior, que
los estudiantes producen textos escritos, pero con una concepción que tiene afinidad con
lo oral. Hay una planificación intermedia, que tiende a ser más bien poca, un grado de
formalidad que raya en lo informal, y un predominio del compromiso del autor con él
mismo y con el tema por encima del grado de distanciamiento que se espera en un texto
académico. Cabe acotar que, si bien hay esta afinidad con la inmediatez y con la oralidad,
no podemos dejar de lado el hecho de que los estudiantes en un modo muy relajado
producen un texto en el que, en efecto, tratan un tema específico y dan una opinión
personal. Sin embargo, en cuanto a la estructura, grado de formalidad y tratamiento del
tema encontramos que hay una amplísima gama de posibles combinaciones que oscilan
en la cercanía de la inmediatez comunicativa, pues abarcan desde el uso de las malas
palabras (G5) hasta la referencia al primer amor (J3).
Gráfico 5: Representación gráfica del corpus como un todo en el continuo inmediatez-distancia
comunicativa propuesto por Oesterreicher.
93
En el gráfico anterior, la flecha roja nos muestra cómo se ubicaría nuestro grupo
de cincuenta ensayos, vistos como un todo, en el continuo de inmediatez-distancia
comunicativa. Nuestros textos se insertan en la parte superior del gráfico. Un texto legal y
un artículo de fondo van a la derecha, hacia la distancia comunicativa, hacia la
escrituralidad. Nuestros textos sin embargo, y el análisis lo comprueba, a pesar de ser
colocados en la parte superior del gráfico, pues son escritos, se acercan al polo izquierdo,
el de la inmediatez comunicativa, el de la oralidad. Bien podría ser ubicado entre la carta
privada y la entrevista en un diario.
Nos parece interesante pasar ahora de lo general a lo específico, es decir, tratar de
construir un continuo de inmediatez y distancia comunicativa a partir de los cincuenta
textos que hemos estudiado (Ver gráfico: 6).
Nos sirven como punto de referencia los ensayos que hemos reproducido
anteriormente cuando hablábamos de los diversos continuos.
Un aspecto que hemos dejado de lado es el de los temas asignados y la forma en
que los estudiantes los abordan, pues no es uno de los objetivos de la investigación. Con
el gráfico a la vista (ver gráfico 6) no podemos dejar de hacer unas acotaciones que nos
parecen muy relevantes, y que tienen que ver justamente con los temas de los ensayos.
Tenemos el caso de los ensayos sobre la canción y sobre género. Cuando hablábamos de
la longitud de los ensayos, advertimos que muy fácilmente se podía asumir que un ensayo
hecho en clase sería más corto que uno hecho en casa, y luego señalamos a la luz de las
cifras que ese no era necesariamente el caso, pues los ensayos sobre género, que fueron
hechos en clase, eran más largos que los análisis de las canciones hechos en casa.
A la luz del continuo de inmediatez-distancia comunicativa, observamos también
la peculiar distribución de estos mismos grupos de ensayos en el continuo. Bien se podría
asumir que el hablar de una canción se puede hacer de una forma más relajada y personal,
y que el hablar sobre género requiere un mayor grado de objetividad. En el caso de una
canción se trata de interpretar lo que su letra nos transmite, mientras que en el caso del
género se trata de analizar una problemática a nivel mundial, la cual, bien puede ser
sustentada con experiencias propias, pero requiere de cierto apoyo teórico, sobre todo si
94
Gráfico 6: El continuo oralidad y escrituralidad concepcional de los 50 ensayos del corpus
Escrituralidad concepcional
G5 A5 A4 F5 B5 G4 A2 A3 J4J3 E3 A1 B2 G3 C2 D1 E4 E2 I5 G1 B4 B3 B1 F3 C3 C1 C5 I4 F1 I2 J5 J1 H3 D4 C4 D2 I1 I4 H4 H2 H1 E5 D5 E1 I3 J2 F2 H5
Oralidad concepcional
95
el punto de partida para dicho texto era un texto analizado en clase.
Nuevamente la investigación demuestra que en el caso de nuestro corpus, estas
aseveraciones pierden peso, pues los ensayos número 2 se acercan en su mayoría al polo
de la distancia comunicativa (F2, J2,D2,H2, I2,E2), mientras que más de la mitad de los
ensayos sobre género se acercan al polo de la inmediatez comunicativa (G5, A5, F5, B5,
I5, J5, C5). Asimismo resalta que es precisamente un ensayo sobre género el que nos ha
servido como polo de la distancia comunicativa en nuestro continuo.
De igual modo, se observa en el gráfico 6, cómo la gran mayoría de los ensayos
se insertan entre los dos polos, pero también su mayoría con cercanía a la inmediatez
comunicativa.
En síntesis, se observa que hay una tendencia muy generalizada en nuestro
corpus hacia la afinidad con la inmediatez comunicativa, a pesar de que estudiamos
textos escritos.
4.6 ORALIDAD O ESCRITURALIDAD CONCEPCIONAL
En nuestros objetivos decíamos que queríamos analizar lingüísticamente los
ensayos escritos en inglés como lengua extranjera a fin de ubicarlos en los continuos y
saber cuál es la concepción con que se producen los textos de este grupo de estudiantes,
representativo de nuestra escuela y en un momento crucial de su carrera. Nuestro largo
análisis y estudio de los textos nos permite afirmar que los estudiantes producen textos
inversos (Oesterreicher, 1996) o híbridos en los que se combina la concepción oral y el
medio gráfico.
En otras palabras, hemos encontrado una oralidad concepcional en los textos de
nuestro corpus. Lo cual nos demuestra que independientemente de que el modo de
realización de la tradición discursiva que nos ocupa, el ensayo, sea gráfico, hay una
concepción oral del texto. Esta afirmación nos permite inferir entonces que los
estudiantes escriben textos para la inmediatez comunicativa, por lo tanto se conciben
con afinidad con la oralidad.
La importancia de esta caracterización y definición es que nos permite ver más
allá de los errores gramaticales y sintácticos, la falta de originalidad o la superficialidad
con que se tratan los temas de los que se quejan los profesores con frecuencia. Esta
caracterización nos da la oportunidad de preguntarnos qué le falta, qué le sobra, qué se
96
tiene y qué necesita pulirse en la producción escrita de los estudiantes. Esta
caracterización nos permite ver que una buena o regular gramática puede no ser
suficiente para producir un texto que cumpla con las expectativas del profesor. Nos
permite ver que en muchos casos ideas muy buenas y originales no llegan totalmente al
lector porque el estilo no corresponde, o la estructura no es la adecuada.
Esta caracterización nos permite en síntesis afirmar que las fallas o los
problemas con que los estudiantes de una lengua extranjera nos enfrentamos a la hora de
producir un texto escrito van más allá de la corrección gramatical, o el conocimiento
mismo del idioma, ya que al parecer se originan en la falta de conocimiento de las
convenciones que rigen los tipos de texto y los diferentes modos de abordar los diversos
tipos de textos. La importancia de esta investigación radica en que esta oralidad
concepcional en los textos escritos en inglés como lengua extranjera parece estar
arraigada en la forma en que los estudiantes se preparan para redactar un ensayo, en su
concepción de las estrategias usadas para producir un texto. Lo ideal sería que
pudiéramos diferenciar los distintos grados de oralidad y de escrituralidad y que los
manejáramos cómodamente para poder crear los efectos deseados y no que la modalidad
y los diversos tipos de concepción se entremezclen y nos gobiernen sin nosotros poder
controlarlo o incluso saberlo.
97
Capítulo V
V CONCLUSIONES
Tomando en cuenta las limitaciones y alcances de la presente investigación,
consideramos que nuestro trabajo ha sido provechoso pues podemos ofrecer un análisis
lingüístico de los rasgos de oralidad y escrituralidad en los ensayos escritos en inglés
por los estudiantes de inglés como lengua extranjera en nuestra Escuela, a la vez que
hemos detectado un modelo de continuo de oralidad y escrituralidad concepcional
representativo también de nuestra Escuela. Lo cual significa que hemos hecho, al
98
menos, un modesto aporte en la investigación de la producción textual de los
estudiantes de inglés como lengua extranjera.
La investigación realizada nos permite decir que tuvimos algunos hallazgos
importantes:
•
En la escritura de los estudiantes de la muestra hay presencia de rasgos de
oralidad y escrituralidad. Hay una tendencia a la mayor utilización de rasgos de
oralidad que de escrituralidad. Esta tendencia se manifiesta sobretodo en el
continuo de compromiso y distanciamiento, aunque también se hace patente en
los de planificación y no planificación, y formalidad e informalidad.
•
En los continuos de planificación-no planificación y formalidad–informalidad
predomina la posición intermedia, en el continuo compromiso-distanciamiento
se tiende al compromiso. En lo que se refiere a la planificación resalta el uso de
estrategias organizativas expresadas en primera persona y el uso de expresiones
preferidas tales como el adverbial finally y el conector in conclusion. En el
continuo de formalidad e informalidad destacan como rasgos característicos del
polo de la informalidad: la preferencia por los conectores ilativos, adversativos y
causales, sobre todo en posición inicial, así como la densidad léxica
relativamente baja del vocabulario de los ensayos. Como característica propia
del polo del distanciamiento resalta la marcada ausencia de muletillas y frases
que permiten controlar el flujo de la información o hedges. El uso repetido de
las referencias a la primera persona y la frecuencia de opiniones explícitas,
palabras evaluativas, expresiones adverbiales de lugar, certeza y cautela y
referencias a procesos verbales, son rasgos en los que se manifiesta el
compromiso en nuestro corpus.
•
Esta posición intermedia y tendencia al compromiso se traducen en una cercanía
con el polo de la inmediatez comunicativa. Lo cual quiere decir que los textos
escritos por estos estudiantes tienen afinidad con la oralidad concepcional. Es
decir, independientemente del modo de verbalización del texto, en este caso
gráfico, hemos encontrado que los estudiantes se avocan a la redacción de los
ensayos con una concepción oral, como si fueran a transmitir un texto oral.
•
En síntesis, los hallazgos muestran que los estudiantes venezolanos de inglés
siguen patrones de producción textual como los descritos en las investigaciones
de Oesterreicher (1996, 1997), cuyos planteamientos nos sirvieron de punto de
99
partida. De acuerdo con esta perspectiva, los estudiantes de la muestra producen
textos inversos en los que se combinan una concepción oral con el medio
gráfico.
Esperamos que este trabajo sirva como un pequeño aporte para mejorar la
enseñanza y aprendizaje del inglés como lengua extranjera en nuestra Escuela. Del
mismo modo esperamos que nuestro estudio atraiga el interés de otros
investigadores que amplíen este tipo de análisis a otros niveles de enseñanza y a
otras lenguas enseñadas en nuestra Escuela, así como esperamos que en un futuro, la
cooperación entre investigadores nos permita nuevos resultados relacionados con la
producción de textos en una lengua extranjera, no sólo escritos sino también orales,
para beneficio de los profesores y, muy especialmente, para los estudiantes.
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Anexos
A continuación se presenta el corpus ordenado por temas y en orden alfabético
según estudiante:
AUSTRALIA
A1
An aspect that I consider important to talk about “Piano” and “The Drover’s wife” is
how somebody look for a new way of life.
Ada (Piano’s main character) lived a sad life. Her only way to communicate her
feelings was through a Piano which she considered part of her life. She had to get married with
a man who she did not love. But she met other man and she fell in love with him. When she
decide to leave her husband and to go with the other man, she throw the piano to the sea. This is
a representation of how she changed her life. She left her sad life in the sea for living a new life
with the man she loved.
In “The Drover’s Wife” short story, the representation of how the woman changed her
life was through killing a snake. We can say that the woman lived a common life, but after she
killed the snake she felt stronger and without fears.
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In conclusion, in both stories women looked for anew way of life throwing or
eliminating anything. Both women were decided because they wanted to be happy.
B1
Comparison between the novel “Drover’s wife” and the film “Lesson of Piano”
Drover’s wife is a story in which a woman has to put face a terrible situation I her life.
She is alone with her children and she protects them against danger. This woman is strong and
she is not doing it only for herself but for her family because she doesn’t have a husband at
home.
In the same way, in the film leccion de piano, the main characters: a mother and her
daughter are presented as defenceless persons. However, in this story the woman is with her
husband, and though he has to work outside sometimes, she is not alone all the time.
In addition, it’s very important to say that both women are finally alone. Nevertheless,
one of them love her husband and the other one does not. She achieved the love again in another
man arms.
The settle is different in both stories. The first one (Drover’s wife) describes an
environment which contains a lot of bush in a dry place. So, the settle is represented as a
menace, a hostile locale where there is not comfort. The second one, (Lesson of Piano) the settle
portraits a bad weather which is represented by the sad rain that falls I the forest.
Finally, the piano (Lesson of Piano) and the snake(Drover’s wife) are images which
inspire feelings in both women. Nevertheless, both women get out of them. So, this shows that
they are finally free to do what they want and they are independent.
C1
Essay
The short story the drover’s wife and the film “Piano” show us many aspects
that would be interesting to compare or analize. The two stories relate the “life” of two women:
Ada in Piano, and that woman in the drover’s wife (we do not know her name). Both are alone
and lonely. Ada in her silent world and the drover’s wife in her home. They are married but
their husbands frequently are out of their homes. One of them takes care of his lands, and the
other one with his sheeps. For that reason, the women must survive on their own. The two
stories have children. Those children are very important in the lives of Ada and the drover’s
wife. Ada’s girl is her companion, her friend, is who can understand her. Ada only “speaks” or
has communication with her daughter. It is the same with the children in the drover’s wife.
There is not adults in that land, so the children are her friends and nobody else.
Also, we have some differences that are important to highlight. For example, sex is
important in Piano, but not in the drover’s wife, but I think that in the drover’s wife there is no
sex because there is no man. For that reason we say that she can’t live without a man, of coarse,
she shows us that she can live alone. However, Ada finds another man who gives her love and
that aid that she needs. Ada is radical because she breaks rules of society, the drover’s wife only
sits reading her magazine, she doesn’t do anything in order to change her way.
D1
Comparison between Australia and Venezuela in terms of principal geographical /population
characteristics.
Let’s start with the geographical characteristics: Australia has 7.7 million km2 , and it is
seven or eight times much bigger than Venezuela, which have approximately 1 million km2 or
105
even less. About the landscape, Australia is a country formed mainly by sandy deserts in the
north west, flat plains in the center area, to mountains, which are the predominant landform in
the whole country, above all in the southestern part.
There are not only differences in comparing Australia and Venezuela, but they can also be
similar in other aspects, for example, in population: Venezuela has a population of about 23
million of people, and even though Australia is much bigger that it, it has about 20 million of
people, which means that there is not very density in Australia (about 2 people per km2). In
terms of distribution of the population, most of Australian, as well as Venezuelan people are
concentrated in the big cities. The aborigines in both Venezuela and Australia form a low
percentage of the population (about 1% of less of the total population).
Finally, as we can see there are as similarities as differences between these two beautiful
countries, but of course these characteristics are not the only that can be mentioned, if there are
a lot of features in terms of geography and population that can be compared.
E1
Australia and Venezuela in terms of principal geographical population characteristics
Australia and Venezuela are countries that are very far to one another, they are in
differents continents, and in consequence, they have many cultural and geographicals
differences. Making a comparation, these countries have more or less the same quantity of
population, but Australia is almost seven times bigger than Venezuela. There are also
differences in clime, Australia is a very dry country with coast in its south part and Venezuela
has a tropical clima that sometimes is very wet. On the other hand, in the north part of
Australia, the clime is like venezuelan clime.
The cultural differences are many, first, Venezuela is a republic and Australia still keep
the monarchy figure that is the British Monarchy. Venezuela is divided in 22 states which have
more or less the same tall and Australia is divided in only big seven states: In Venezuela
population is distributed around the country but the most of Australians are concentrated on
cities. In consequence Australians way of life is more modern and quickly than Venezuelan
way of life. An other difference is that Australia has a lot of influence of immigrants (British
and Asian people) but in Venezuela only a little part of population is formed by immigrants.
Finally, we can see that the differences between countries can be determinated by where
they are in the world, by geographics aspects and by the clime, all this made create also big
cultural differences.
F1
Briefly compare Australia and Venezuela in terms of principal geographical/population
characteristics
In terms of geographical characteristics we can notice that Australia is located between
the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, isolated from other territories, while Venezuela is
surrounded by different countries, which represents a difference between them. On the other
hand, Australia’s superficie is 77 millions km², seven or eight times bigger then Venezuela’s
area. Regarding to climate’s characteristics we can notice some similarities, both nations have
tropical weather and both have wonderful sunny coasts. Nevertheless, Australia is flat, there’re
not many mountains while Venezuela’s geographie is very on this issue. Besides, it’s important
to take into account that Australia is a very dry and arid territory while Venezuela is not.
Talking about population’s characteristics we can see that even though Australia’s area
is bigger than Venezuela’s the density of population is almost the same on both countries: about
18 or 20 millions people. Another similarity can be noticed when we see that most of
Australia’s inhabitants live in the coasts of the country in big cities as most of Venezuela’s
population do. On both nations the population in concentrated in developped cities and the rest
of both territories uninhabitated or at least non-populated.
106
Finally, we can also notice that either Australia or Venezuela have mixed ethnic
cultures, because they both were colonies of european countries (England – Spain), both of
them are a mix of different ideologies and creeds and both have been the home of different
inmigrants cultures.
G1
Comparison between “The Drover’s wife” and “Lessons of Piano”
Both stories are related to pioneers struggling against nature and hostile
environment in de “Down under” southerns regions of the world, Australia and New Zealand.
Their principal characters are women who had to afford hazards finding in themselves the
necessary strenght for fisical and mental survival.
In the Drover’s wife is more fisical dealing with loneliness and forest challenges “a
woman fighting alone against the nature for her and her kid’s survival”.
In the piano lesson the problem is more psychological one about herad sickness joining
and living with the wrong person feelings hurt by the materialistic and sexual attitudes of mens
and her religious and severe education “a woman fighting alone against her whishes and her
social responsibilities”
Vita brevis, arts aeterna
H1
Australia and Venezuela are countries with both similarities and differences. In terms of
area, the Australian continent has a size of 7.7 million km2 , if we compare it to Venezuela we
could say that it is seven times larger; when it comes to population both countries are very
similar, in fact, Venezuela has a population of about 23 million people, this is one million
people over Australian population. However, the population density is quite different: 2 people
per km2 in Australia and about 26 people per km2 in Venezuela. Another aspect is the political
division: Australia is divided in 7 territories and Venezuela has 25 states.
An important similarity of these countries has to do with the aborigines, in Australia the
aborigines are about 200.000 people, this is about 1% of the population and they are
concentrated mainly in the central area of the country. In Venezuela, it is about the same
percentage of aborigines and they concentrate in the north part of the country. We could say that
the rest of the population in both countries is similar because of the mixture of cultures and
races that they represent. There is also a mixture of landscapes in both countries, in any of them
you could find beaches, mountains, plains, deserts, a very rich geography combinated with great
mineral resources.
When it comes to the economy, both countries have learned to use their mineral
resources, such as oil in Venezuela and natural gas is Australia; although there is difference in
the agriculture, which is greatly developed in the Australian continent but in Venezuela, it has
been left aside because more importance has been given to other things like the petroleum.
Finally, there is the political aspect, in which these countries are very different. Since
Australia was a British colony, The Queen Elizabeth remains as the Head of State
I1
Essay
Brief comparaison between Australia and Venezuela in terms of principal geographical,
population and economic characteristics.
107
Australia is located between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean; it’s flat and the
superficie is 7.7 km2. Although, it is bigger than Venezuela, it is a non-populated country,
because Australia has just 18 millions inhabitants. The density of the population is 2 people per
kilometer square, while in Venezuela the density is more or less 20 people per km2. Both
countries population are concentrated in the cities.
Also, Australia has Aborigines. They represent 1% of the population and their
distribution is concentrated in the desert. (North and Center part of the country), while the
different Venezuela Indians are located in the North East (Guajira) and in Amazonia.
Regarding to the economical aspects; Australia is well-known as an agricultural country.
Australians grow wheet and cereals, and they practice the livestock. Also, it is a mining country,
there are a lot of diamonds, gold (that was discovered in 1851), iron and metals.
However, Venezuela is well-known as a petroleum country since the 1920. The mining
and the agricultural issues are not well developed, because most of the Venezuela’s incomes
depende on the petroleum.
Talking about the political system. Australia has a Monarch Constitution where the head of the
state is represented by the Queen Elisabeth II and a Prime Minister who is elected by the
Parlament. In Venezuela, the head of the state is a president elected by the citizens.
In conclusion, there are some differences and some similarities between both countries.
J1
Australia and Venezuela
If we compare Australia to Venezuela we will find out not only remarkable differences
but also some similarities.
First of all, a fact that we need to take into account is that these two countries belong to
the “New World”, they have been colonized by the British (Australia) and by the Spanish
(Venezuela). Because of this there is a mix of origins in these two countries, by the moment
they were colonized the unhabitants were indigians and the colonists explotated them. In
majority these colonists were not well educated people. On one hand, Australia was a British
prison, so British criminals were sent to this country. On the other hand, the people who first
arrived with Colombus to Venezuela were also criminals. Nowadays, British and Spanish have a
certain image of these countries.
Considering the geographical and population aspects, Australia is seven or eight times
bigger than Venezuela, its population is grand 22 million unhabitants, almost the same as
Venezuelan population, which shows that Australia is an unhabitated continent. However, in
both countries population is concentrated in the coast.
Nowadays, Australia and Venezuela live different situations. Even though they both are
rich lands, Australia have well-administrated its richness, it is an economic developed country
and Venezuela is now living a time of misery and crisis.
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CANCIÓN
A2
The Sound of Silence
This song was written by Paul Simon in 1963 but it was ready in
1964. He thinks that this song is a social vision of the lack of
communication.
That is why I say that darkness is ignorance and people has been used
to living with that ignorance which is like a habit. In many ways
people prefer darkness to light or ignorance to wisdom. People live in
a superficial world and it does not let them develop their senses and
they have the inability to communicate with each other. So people do
not dare see the reality because that reality can take them out of the
routine and nobody likes to do something different. The author
invites people to do something different but nobody wants to listen to
his words nobody wants to go deep. For that reason his words stay on
the surface. People must analize deeply to find the truth.
In conclusion I can say that silence is in one way darkness but if we
analize in depth silence is light and we have to wake up to realize
that.
B2
Hotel California:
Hotel California is a song that can be explained in many different
ways. In addition, it is very important to take into account some
social problems to understand some points of this song.
In the first stanza a man drives his car in a desert highway, he is
alone, perhaps he is smoking. It can infer this, because of the smell of
colitis (which means, maybe, the stub o a cigarette).
Suddenly this man sees in the distance splendor he starts losing his
conscience and he has to stop. Then, a woman approaches to the car
and invite him to somewhere and he decides to follow her. That
place is dark because the woman has to lit up a candle. He starts
thinking to himself that probably he is in heaven or in hell. In this
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case, it can deduce that he has arrived to a very beautiful or horrible
place.
Probably the man in trance or drugged. He is hearing noises and
voices that are inviting him to a wonderful place (a hotel called
California) that is plenty of rooms and is very popular.
The third stanza makes a reference to the woman. She is a little bit
out of her mind (perhaps she is drugged). She has a Mercedez Benz
and a lot of pretty boys that she calls friends.
In this opportunity it is evident that she is an easy girl, a prostitute
maybe, who works for the owner of the hotel and who has customers.
On the other hand, the man is in the hotel and he is enjoying the
comfort of such hotel. This place is so amazing that is described as
unforgettable, magic and lascivious.
Why magic? Because the man hears voices all around all the time.
Stanza number four describes the hotel as a very luxury place plenty
of things that are common in hotels such as mirrors on the ceiling and
champeign on ice.
The hotel is described too as a jail where everybody is a prisoner of
its own desires. The hotel is the perfect place for doing bad things,
and once somebody gets into that place he/she will not be able to
return. That is the case of the man of the song.
In conclusion, the main idea of the song is to give a message about
bad viscious. It trais to inform and to warning people about drug
viscious and bad habits.
C2
Redemption Song
By Bob Marley
This is a social song and a reaction against slavery. It is so easy to
understand because Marley is very explicit in his interpretation. He
says that colored people were robbed from their native land: Africa,
and sold to the ships in which they were brought to America. The
idea of oppression was present in their mind and for that reason they
transmited the concept of freedom. At the same time, he says that it is
necessary to get free from a mental slavery, because if colored people
think that they are oppressed yet, this idea could crash with the real
liberty. Also, it is necessary to be strong in order to stop those who
want to silence the black-voice.
It is interesting to see the use of religious words like “redemption”
(which it meaning is like rescue). “almighty” (God), “prophets” and
the “book”, which is the Bible. So, we note how this colored people
find in the occidental religion a solution or a refuge for their
problems.
Finally, we can say that. As Bob Marley was a famous singer, he
could hug people with his lyrics. For that reason this song touches
everybody.
D2
A BREAF ANALYSIS OF THE SONG: Civil War
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Civil War is the first of the 14 songs that compose “Use your illusion
II”, the third album (1991) of the American rock group Guns’n
Roses.
It is pretty obvius that the lyrics of this song refer to the most
powerful country in the world, they refer to the United states, to all
the lies that are hidden, and have been always hidden under the name
of patriotism.
The most approximated interpretation of the song would be, in my
opinion, that wars are no longer for love of God, human rights or
freedom, those are just excuses, because the real purpose is related to
political or economical interests, or perhaps it is just the hunger of
power, and the means to achieve this purposes are innocent people,
hypnotized and brainwashed people who have always fought and
died proudly for their country:
My hands are tied
The billions shift from side to side
And the wars go on with brainwashed pride
For the love of God and our human righ
And all these things are swept aside
By bloody hands time can’t deny
And are washed away by your genocide
And history hides the lies of our civil wars.
Other important elements mentioned in the song, which refer to the
lies that history bears, are Martin Luther King Jr., that is refereed in
the song as “the man who said ‘peace could last forever’, who was
one of the principal leaders of the American civil rights movement,
and Kennedy, the most admired, and perhaps the most popular
president that the United States has ever had. Both, Luther King and
Kennedy were real and honest leaders who defended and fought for
people; and both Luther King and Kennedy were “inexplicably”
assassinated before they could finish their labors. They died in
similar, they were shot, they were shot by a “nobody”. However, a lot
of people still think that it was, in both cases, an inner conspiration,
that “the were shot” by the own government.
“You can’t trust freedom when it’s not in your hands”: freedom is
not, and won’t be in people’s hands, in soldier’s hands, as the
government makes them believe, the truth is that people fight not for
their freedom, not their rights, but for the “promised land” of those
who are on the top, who have the power, who control people as
puppets to achieve their own goals. This civil war is about a war
against the own nation, using its own people, a war hidden behind
lies and excuses, a war that “feeds the rich while it buries the poor”, a
war that sells soldiers “in human grocery store.
‘WE PRACTICE SELECTIVE
ANNIHILATION OF MAYORS
AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS,
FOR EXAMPLE, TO CREATE A VACUUM.
THEN WE FILL THAT VACUUM
AS POPULAR WAR ADVANCES,
PEACE IS CLOSER
We can clearly realize that this verse, almost at the end of the song, which is an extract of a
Peruvian Guerrilla General’s speech, is used as an irony, an irony that confirms, again, the
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falseness of the government. According to this General “peace is closer”, however, war
advances go on, armery and al kinds of weapons continue improving. This contradictory fact is
a clear evidence of the lies, of the excuses used to satisfy a desperate hunger of power, never
caring for the things they say or do, and its consequences.
E2
Broken Home (Papa Roach)
Papa Roach is an American group of northern California, his vocalist is Coby Dick, his
last album is Infest (200) and in this album we can find the song “Broken Home”.
This song talks about a story of a divorce, and how can suffer the son of this family, this
is the reason of the title of the song “Broken Home”, we can see how with a divorce the family
is finishing and his members are been separated and in consequence the home is broken.
Through the song, the child narrates how are his feelings, how he is caught between his
parents and their fights. At first we can see that the child is alone, he needs somebody to trust,
and after he expresses his trouble with his father, he feels that his father doesn’t pay attention to
him and he asked him if his grandfather did the same with him.
The child is alone and he feels that he is the raison of the divorce his is in the middle of
a war and he thinks guilty of it. This child is suffering and the things can not be changed
because the wounds are there.
This is a kind of criticism to those parents who are in trouble and forget that the
children also suffer the consequences of the divorce.
In the United States there a high level of divorce and a lot of cases, the father abandons
his family and keeps far of the sons.
F2
Essay “We wait and we wonder”
“We wait and we wonder” is a song that was written by Phil Collins the last few month
of 1993. Produced and performed by the britain singer and actor , it was published on the
album “Both Sides” and it can be considered as a song which was made in order to make us
realize and analize how far some people can go to achieve its purposes and how destructive can
it be for the whole world.
At the beginning the author shows the reaction of those who face up terrorist attacks
and cannot understand what is happening and how a person or a group of people can use
violence or threats to intimidate a society.
Regarding to the second stanza we can notice that through the phrase
“Killing the old, the innocent, the young” Collins tries to show that
there are not limits to terrorists. No mercy, they go as far as possible
regardless of what of what they do is wrong. In addition, it seems that
those attacks, which fill with terror lot of citizens, will never be over
because as the author says “… sons follow in fathers footsteps not
understanding that what they do could somehow be so wrong”, which
shows that, unfortunately, they are children or teenagers who learn
what they’ve always seen, who learn to dominate or coerce by using
violence for purposes that most of the time they do not understand.
Thus, they grow learning that to terrorize or to take someone’s life is
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almost normal, so they become “brave heroes” that “only hit and
run”, better said, coward men who dominate or even kill innocent
people not claiming responsibility for their actions.
On the other hand, it can be seen that Collins tries to make analyse listeners be making
questions in his chores: “So tell me when will it be over now, how soon? How far must we go,
to prove to you?”. The author expects us to realize that terrorism and its means can become at
any moment so familiar that we will think of it as something normal but then something even
worse or more destructive will happen to prove to us how far can some people go for their
convictions.
Thus, as the singer says, we just wait and wonder what will happen because it seems
that there is not place for tolerance, compassion or understanding while innocent people die
around the world.
G2
Stranger in Paradise
This song “Stranger in Paradise” is one of many which ensamble a
Broadway musical play like one operetta and was performed many
times in the fifties.
The music was based on an Russian Opera “Prince Igor” written by
Borodin thought all his life (spend more than 30 years writing it).
Borodin was a member of the mighty five (Rimsky, Korsakov,
Balakirief, Cui, and Mussgovsky) this opera remain unfinished at the
dead of Mussgorsky, and was finished and orquestated by his
students and partners (Stavov and Pimslev Korsakov), and was an
good example lack of egoism and collaboration between musicians
of that ancient times.
Today the behavior between musicians had changed a lot; we can
appreciate in the booklet of the cd about 1 page full of legal and
reserved writes of the musicians and companies that by legal writes
of the authors.
And even this legal writing threten us as possible transgredors, (like
this an unauthorized hearing that we are performing during our class).
Let us speak about the song it is about a arabic prince “The Califa”
who felt in love with a beautiful girl “The daughter of a poet” and for
that reason he feels like a “stranger in paradise”. It is a typical
“Broadway show” song of the fifties without many problems
speaking about the joy of love in that wonderfull orient- colored
melodies concivied by an orient mind (Borodin was an ilegitimous
son of a Sheik of one of the oriental countries neiborgh to Russia).
This operetta piece was performed for mor than 10 years in
Broadway and later was the subject of a famous Hollywood film
“Stranger in Paradise”
H2
“Virtual Insanity” is a song from the English group “Jamiroquai”
which is in the album called Travelling without moving released in
1996.
In general terms, this song is about the materialism and the
importance that the human being all over the world is giving to
material things.
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First of all the title of the song is “Virtual Insanity” because
nowadays people are living their lives according to what they have
instead of what they are, worrying about material things, the
appereance , things that seem real but they are actually fake because
they don’t really matter, and they are not going to last forever. So, we
are insane because of this virtual things.
In the song’s first stanza there are very importance sentences, such as
It’s a wonder man can eat at all, it means that nowadays some people
don’t care about eating as long as they have all other things to be
satisfied, when he says When things are big that should be small is
referring to the importance that people are giving to some things that
should not be really important. Then, the singer is expressing his pain
for living in a world that has gone from bad to worse and all the
things that are happening are invading his life and he cannot do
anything about it. He even mentions that we are immersed in sin.
In the chorus, he says that this virtual insanity is all we have to give
to the future because we do not care about love anymore, it is useless,
we are mixing it with technology and even placing them in the same
level. There is no sound – for we all live underground because things
are making us deaf, covering the reality.
In the second stanza, he refers to the crazy things that the human
being has done in order to progress the sickly ties could be the
damages made to nature, the wars, etc. And now every mother can
choose the colour of her child, technology has even reached the
natural process of creating a life which nowadays seems oldfashioned for some people. When he says there’s nothing left to do
but pray, I think it’s time I found a now religion, he is referring to
the fact that there is no hope and that God is not listening to his
prayers, so he is going to change his religion. Then he says that he
cannot write anymore because there are so many negative things that
make him suffer.
I2
Essay No 2
American Woman
The original song was sung by “Guess who” and nowadays it is sung
by Lenny Kravitz.
First of all, American Woman is related to the Statue of Liberty
which is the symbol of the United States. The message is against the
Statue, because in the first 13 lines of the song mean: American
Woman doesn’t bother me anymore, I do not want to see you even
your shadow, so stay far away from my eyes.
In the phrase “Mama let me be” the word “mama” refers to the
“Mother of Exiles” inspired in the poem “The New Colossus” written
by Emma Lazarus. Also, it means: mom, you do not have to take care
of me anymore. I’m going to leave you, because I’m already an adult
to be independent, to live my life and to make my decisions.
When it says “I don’t need your war machine” it refers to the
Vietnam War in 1955 to 1975. During this war United States sent a
lot of soldiers and war machines to Vietnam in order to control the
whole country. Many American soldiers died in this unsuccessful
war. So, this song protest against the idea of showing to the world
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how powerful is US and how it protects its interest by sending its
soldiers to every country and every war.
Also in “colored lights can hypnotize, sparkle someone else’s eyes”
means: American Woman, you cannot force me to do what you want,
find another person to help you, ‘cause I won’t play your game.
In the last part of the song, the singer faces the Statue and tells her
what he feels for her and why he leaves her. It’s like giving the
reasons to leave the motherland.
In conclusion, this song uses the image of the Statue of Liberty to
criticize the way how United States governments manage the
Americans and other countries. Also it is paradoxical to use the
Statue representing the Americans liberty, when they don’t have any
freedom to make their own decision in the society and in the country,
because every action that they do, it has to be controlled by the
government.
J2
GAMES WITHOUT FRONTIERS
Peter Gabriel, 1980
ESSAY
This song refers specially to war, children and the kind of games that these children play
together.
In the first place, an aspect that we should take into account is that the different names
of children can represent some of the different nations that took part in the war.
So, Hans, Lotte and Adolf could represent Germany; Jane and Will: The United States and
England; Suki: Japan; André: France and Chiang Ching: Vietnam. Secondly, it is obvious that
because of the war there is an atmosphere of violence around these children that influences on
their behaviour and actions. They seem to imitate through games what adults do during war
time; so, one kid has a red flag while other has a blue one (different countries, different
ideologies) and they are dressing up in costumes, hiding out in tree-tops and what is more, they
are shouting out rude names. In fact, they are just playing, but the violence that they see around
them, they have it already inside.
Another aspect that we should point out is that if these children represent different
nations in war, they also hate eachother as their countries do. It is true that by the fact they are
children, they have no guns, but if their looks could kill they probably will, because they are at
war and this implies hating and killing the enemy. It seems to me that this is why their games
are without frontiers, they have no limits, actually they wish they could kill eachother.
Furthermore, if their games have no limits, they have no feelings and this is also why their war
is a war without tears, they just cannot cry, they feel no sorrow at any death.
In conclusion, the singer is showing one of the terrible aspects of war that has to do
when children who are not even capable of understanding a conflict like this, get not only
involved in it but also corrupted.
AMOR
A3
115
What is love? What we commonly call love has nothing to do with
love. It is a beautiful word that everybody uses without knowing what
that means, without feeling what means. We continue using the word
“love”, we use it a lot, and we forget the fact that we have not felt it,
we continue using it, we continue repeting it, and everytime that
repetition makes you feel that you know it.
What we call love is something that is programmed by culture,
education, society and family. When two human beings make a
relationship in what we call love is an inexpected meeting of two
worlds which is not something easy but hard. At the beginning you
can find the external appereance of the person but if the relationship
grows up then the intimity grows up to. So the internal appereance of
that two people find by itself. We can call that love.
Love is an extraordinary bloom, and is extraordinary because it can
happen when there is no fear. In the relationship of the external
aspect, sex, possession and dependency supplant love, but this only
happens if people do not know their true being, and then their
relationship stay on the periphery, on the surface.
We need more time and patience to reach the true being of a person.
We need a different situation. Then the physical penetration is sex
which is something that is superficial. The psychological penetration
is love which is something much deeper, significative, beautiful,
human. Finally the two worlds find to each other and the two
consciences mix between them and make the “prayer of life”.
In conclusion we can say that love is not a cultural, biological or
learned emotion. Love is love, and we can find it if we find our true
being. Love has to be something that comes from our heart, and not
something that comes from our mind.
B3
Love
According to the dictionary love means to like someone very much
and to have romantic or sexual feelings for them. However, in many
different societies love has several conceptions depending on the
culture, and what’s more, love is considered as a part of human
behavior.
As regards this definition and the texts read in class, I hall be
concerned, chiefly, with what is called by the people: sexual love
(sexual feelings as a necessity) and romantic love (as a part of the
human behavior). Experts have many different opinions about what
love is, how can be manifested and why we fall in love.
In this case, it is important to mention that, throughout the human
history some have written about love as well. Nevertheless, it is not
asserting that love always border on the pathological or on the sexual
feelings exclusively. Thus viewed, it could think that “love” is
divided.
For that reason, when a person seeks love in order to share with
another person it’s because she or he does not want to be alone.
Besides, in that moment of the life, sexual feelings and romanticism
can play together an important role. So, true love is a combination of
romanticism and sexual feelings as a whole. In consequence, it may
be viewed as a deterrent to maturity.
On the other hand, I do not think that sexual impulses or romanticism deserve to be called love
like if they could act in an independent way. It means that there is not sex without romanticism
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(including sincerity and decision to have a stable relationship) and romanticism without sex
(which include sexual and emotional needs).
C3
Love Songs
“Help, I need somebody
Help, not just anybody
Help, you now I need someone
Help!”
Everybody says that love is one of the most beautiful feelings in
human been. Even, most of the people say that is the greatest feeling,
and they firmly believe that. But, how can you believe in something
that you cannot see? Or, why do people feel so happy when they are
in love? These are questions hard to answer because, love is really
incomprehensible, noone can say what is he/she feeling or why is
he/she happy for, when love appears. They just say that they are the
happiest man or woman in the world.
A natural “biological” emotion or a learned “cultural” phenomenon, love could be both.
“Biological” because there are some reactions which can be explained by science. For example,
the ticklishness in the stomach, the stammering someone has when is in front of the loved
person, that kind of stupidity that you have when you are thinking of your lover, and so on. Just
science can study these things and explain us with a real and logical language. But we really do
not feel attached to, when we read or listen to those studies that talk about the incomprehensible
love. We prefer feel as a strange person who see grow up flowers on the roadway, and that
usually sings love songs:
“Love is real
real is love
Love is you\you and me” The Beatles
However, society has influence in our conduct, and we are pushed to
fall in love. If someone does not have a partner, everybody says that
something strange is happening. So, lonely people seek the way in
order to find the form to “have” a partner for to “be” part of the
severe society. A girl goes to the beauty shop, buys fashion clothes,
and tries to lose fat. A boy looks for money that can use with a girl in
a bar, cinema or whatever, tries to be like the new idols (Brad Pitt.
Ricky Martin, etc) and so on. Many of couples are join because of
pressure of others. In a group of friends if somebody do not have a
partner, they look for one. People in love want to see others in their
situation, and share their beautifull feelings. They want to give all
that they can (or “are” or “have”) to the loved person:
“I want to give you some love
I want to give you some good lovin’”
Bob Marley
But, it is important to say, that people are “animals” with a
“developed brain”. In that case, Sex appears. People want to be in
love, that is a reality, but they want to have sex in order to have
children and perpetuate their name and their genes. Sex is really
important in the conduct of people, because by means of they can
liberate a lot of big energy, satisfy their instincts, etc. People can
have sex with somebody who are not in love of them, and in a couple
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of hours feel like the happiest man or woman all over the world. Of
course, it is better go to bed with the loved person, but is not
necessary to be in love for have sex. It is easiest find someone who
wants to have a wonderful night that a person who shares his/her lif
with you forever and ever.
“Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir”
Now then, if people want to get marry, it is logic that they could be in
love. But, again, one thing is not part of the other, there are couples
that do not know each other until the marriage’s date. So with that
example we see that people can marry without love. Also people can
love without marriage, and people can get sex without love! Even,
and it is really awful, people can be in love and not have sex.
In conclusion, we are humans been and we have the power and the
faculty to realize all the feelings of our brain (or our heart). Love
arrives in some way and we do not know what to do in that case. We
react as we feel better. However, particularly, I do not believe in love,
I cannot believe in something I cannot see, perhaps love will come to
me but I am not waiting for… For the moment, let’s to continue to
listening to those love song:
“All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love
Love is all you need”
The Beatles
E3
What is love? We can say that love is a thing that changes our lifes and put us out of
control (only in exaggerates cases), but is the feeling something that we learned? In my opinion,
there are several reasons to fall in love with somebody.
We can see how the society put pressure on people to have a partner, with televisions
programs about families, or for example women (in some cases) need a representation (a
husband) in business meetings, etc. On the other hand, there is not only the pressure of society,
maybe a person who is alone, needs to share feelings, experiences and be communicate with a
partner who listen him or her and share the same things. We can see also how people who is not
looking for someone to be with, can fall in love only by physicals attractions and after by
personals attractions, and we don’t know when it is going to happen and we neither know with
who it is going to happen, we don’t chose the person, we only fall in love.
Love is not only a thing that society teach us, it is a mixture between an emotion that
grow up without any reason and the behavior we learned of the society. Our behaviour in from
love depends on our culture, for example American people is more closed to express their
feelings and they are more liberals to have sex with people without feel love, but Venezuelans
are open to express their feelings and “in most of cases” Venezuelan women wait to be in love
to have sex with somebody.
In me opinion, love is a biological thing but we learn from society how behave when we
fall in love.
D3
Is love a natural, biological emotion, or a learned, cultural phenomenon?
Why do people think that love is a cultural phenomenon, a cultural
fantasy, a learned emotion? Love is not an invention of the Western
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or Oriental mind, love exists, and I would say that it is a biological
phenomenon, it is part of human nature (even though these are people
who think that animal can also love).
Love is a psychic-fisical phenomenon showed by a deep affection and a warm feeling
for a person, even animals and places. Love is a strong feeling, a sublime emotion, but it is a
biological reaction, a biological demonstration, like anger, or fear, that can involve
physiological changes, such as pulse rates, activities of certain glands, etc… Science has proved
that love manifestations are produced by a kind of chemical reaction in our brain. Love, like
other emotions, is a result of electrical impulses send to the brain.
However, the way in which we drive this emotion is essentially cultural, these are moral
preconceptions and rules, such as the courtship, or the fidelity; institutions such as marriage the
family, etc… The way we show love, or romantic love, is also cultural, each society has its own
way and resources to show it. The fact that a society (like ours, e.g) shows love through candy
and flowers, does not mean that the lack of resources in other cultures indicates the absence of
love.
To summarize, love is not a learned emotion, nobody can teach you to love, you just
feel it, it is breed in our biology, it is an inherent emotion in the human being. What is cultural is
the conception of love, the way in which it is droven and showed in each society.
F3
Is love a natural, “biological” emotion or a learned “cultural” phenomenon?
Most of the time magazines, movies, novels and almost everything shown on to teach us
the rules of love, the ideas of falling in love and of being loved have always being among us.
Some people buy and do almost anything that promises the to escape of loveless solitude.
Writers, philosophers, psychologists and even scientists present their versions of what love is.
But, is love a natural “biological” emotion or a learned “cultural” phenomenon?
From my point of view “the life’s most intense emotion”, love, is a learned cultural
emotion rather than a natural “biological” phenomenon. I think that “romantic love” can has
many determinants by instintic is not one of them. In fact, what could be considered as an part
of humain nature is the unconscious necessity of reproduce ourselves, the need of passing our
genes to next generation, but explanations for what we call love will not be found in this
principles of biology.
I consider that ‘love” was probably invented or created a long time ago by a well
civilized society, and, even though many say it is bred into our biology, I think this emotions, as
many others, has causes and consequently effects.
First, we can notice that most of the time we need acceptance and justification and we
look for a sort of validation in others. For instance, when we do something, because of our own
insecurity we need to know that we are making the right decision so we seek for someone who
shares our ideas and makes of full secure. “This attachment to the source of self-validation
constitutes one important basis of love”, as Casler on this thing called love is pathological
Another cause and effect of love could also be the natural need for sexual satisfaction.
I’m not saying that all of us seek love just to have free sex, but most of the time our societies
emphasize the necessity for love to precede sex. In fact, having sex just to satisfy our instincts
needs is not always common or well accepted, it’s more acceptable if you’re in love. So, if
society, in a repetitive way, ask us to look for love to avoid frustration or anxiety, those who
want to have “purely sexual activity” and being accepted just want to fall in love as quick as
possible.
In addition, from childhood most of us just hear our relatives saying “when you be
married, or, when your wife/husband”, which shows how loved-oriented some of or societies
are. And as love is a prerequisite to a sexual life and to be socially accepted, we just look for it.
However, if a need for a love relationship is based on security and conformity for social
pressures, then will a secure, independent person look for love? I think, I don’t have the answer,
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but it would be a good idea to love and to respect ourselves before acting as societes ask us to,
at last, as Caster say “nothing is good or bad but cultures make it so…”
G3
Relations between love-sex and marriage
The three concepts are related but are definitivly different.
Love is a feeling which affect a person making him related and
dependant of a partner with whom he fall in love.
There are many kinds of love; I am referring to couple love.
One of the normal resoults of that dependence between lovers is the
sex which is the inter-personal relation estimulation and satisfaction
between lovers.
The marriage is like a sotial permit to perform sex between couples
based in the monogamic principles and the legal base to grow up a
family. The relations about this three items are variable and are based
in many other facts which changed trough the times in different sotial
etnical and cultural communities.
The ideal “virtual”situation should be love-marriage-sex but in the
reality we can find all the imaginable combinations the three items
could coexist or be performed in separate way. The sex is more
logical, animal and instinctive feeling and is performed in a similar
way in animals.
It is a natural feeling that helps to the conservation of species and
generally acts in the direction to improve and mix the different
communities.
The love is more human, heartily sentiment which acts through cupid
arrows or sometimes involves a mental process.
The marriage is an institution which exists in human communities
from ancient times whith different variations is a link of love-sex and
hate that joins and separate humans has the particularity that the
excluded want in and the included want out.
H3
Essay
The relationship between love, sex and marriage.
Scientists all over the world have been concerned about love, sex and marriage for a long
time, they have studied each one of them in many different cultures and after their studies and
research, they found themselves in the chicken/egg dilemma: Which came first, sex or love?
To answer this question they have to consider the natural sexual instinct of the human
being, the main purpose of having sex was the procreation, just like animals, the man looks for
the right woman, then they have sex and later the children will arrive. But there is another
purpose of sex: the pleasure. Men not only look for women, but for the ones thy like. So, it
seems that sex is made to satisfy an animal instinct or a need. When did love come to the scene?
When people fall in love, sex seems to be the final prove to their love, not only physical
but the spiritual union, the moment when their love is complete not just because they really
know each other but also because they have abandoned all their pride, their fear, their shame,
their prejudices and they have let themselves go with that feeling and with that perfect person.
So, a person may have sex with many people, but they can even forget it if those were just
physical experiences, all of that goes away when they actually make love to that person that
they want to be with, not only to have sex, but to share their lives for as much time as they want.
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Sometimes, people feel that they want to be together all the time and they decide to get
married. They might think that love is all they need to be happy but they need “true” love which
includes understanding, patience, communication, cooperation, consideration, etc, elements that
are essential to make a successful marriage, to make it last for a long time and to make the
couple strong in the difficult moments and when they are not only a couple, but also parents.
Finally, we can say that love is the basis, the fundamental feeling that can make
everything work; sex and marriage exist, but they are even more beautiful experiences and they
can teach us more valuable lessons if love is included.
I3
What is the relation between love and sex, and between love and marriage? Essay
Love is defined as a very strong feeling or affection toward someone who you are
romantically or sexually attracted to, and who is very important to you. The relation between
love, sex and marriage have a relevant role throughout history.
According to some anthropologists, people who lived before the Middle Age got
together to build a family without knowing the meaning of love. Most of their marriages were
arranged by their parents ignoring if their sons and daughters felt something about their couples.
So, they argue that most of the Non-Occidental societies and cultures never knew what is love,
because it was invented five or six centuries ago by the West society during the Middle Age. In
that moment, people began to talked about it, but that kind of love was related to a forbidden
love or a Courtly love.
The Occidental religion approves that people can have sex as long as they are married,
because it means that those couples will preserve human beings. Also, the religion has
stablished that people first get married and then have sex. So, if a couple had sex without being
married, the society and the church would judge them for perverts and sinners, ‘cause they
infringed two of the most relevant religion’s laws which are the marriage or social union and the
woman virginity.
Although the church accepts sexual relations, people remained skeptical to talk about
love and sex, because they considered that those topics were sinful and shameful.
In the Renaissance; philosophers, poets, etc expressed their emotions without any social
and moral repression. Since then until right now, people are more open-mind, because they are
careless about what the religion thinks, and they care more about human relations in the society.
This absent of faith makes the marriage less important as an social role.
Talking about the relation between love and sex, and between love and marriage. The
first one is a mixture of personal satisfaction and social approve. Love as a chemical and learned
emotion set in people’s mind and a game of likes is preceded by sex. People fall in love in order
to satisfy their needs, to have fun, to be a healthy citizen, etc; but it doesn’t mean that everybody
has sex with everyone to feel good.
Normally, people fall in love and have sex only with someone that he or she considers
the most appropiate couple; otherwise it is like using or exploring someone.
The other relation happens when some couples want to keep the traditional basic union
of the society which are marriage and the family; and when they accept to live as a couple for
ever and ever.
Even though the society is love-oriented, and marriage-oriented, people can choose if
they want to be married or not, because marriage does not represent completely the synonym of
social and economical security, social respect and procreation. After the lose of faith in religion
and the women emancipation, these three characteristics have lost their real meaning. Women
don’t have to get married looking for economical help anymore, because they can work, can be
self-sufficient and can be single mother. People can live as concubines and can divorce plenty of
times from their couples.
In my point of view, I consider that the most common relation is love and sex, because
most of case marriage destroys the couple’s relation, the magic of being in love will become a
family’s compulsory and it will mean the end of the person’s freedom.
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In conclusion, people fall in love, have sex and live together without any sort of social
judgement, and each culture has its own point of view about love.
J3
Essay on love
Love-sex
Love-marriage
Love is fundamental in society, every human being needs love to get by and in this
love-based society, love sex and marriage are quite related and considered essential parts of
every person’s life. That is why society puts pressure on us to fall in love, to have sex being in
love and get married.
In the first place, people have to fall in love, if not something has to be wrong with him
or her. And I can support this argument talking about my own experience, because I have felt
that pressure on falling in love, specially when most of my friends had a partner and I was
alone. By that time, I used to feel quite different and I even thought I had some kind of
psychological problems. I was just trying to justify the fact of not having anyone to love.
Moreover, not only my friends represented a big pressure, but also my family. My mom used to
tell me “don’t be too demanding”, “just give it a try with a boy, perhaps you will fall in love
later”. Now I think that all of them were just worried about the fact that I could not be a
“normal girl” who has a boyfriend, fall in love, has sex and gets married.
A couple of years later, I had no choice but to fall in love. Thank heavens I finally
found that special person I was looking for and got rid of the pressure. Yes, I was finally “in
love”, but I don’t know how to explain that marvelous feeling very well. According to the
dictionary romantic love is a “strong affection for sb. That you are sexually attracted to”. And
as we can see, romantic love seems to be very related to sex. In brief, for being in love with
someone you need to feel sexually attracted to this person. On these terms, love is a requisite for
having sex; in society sex is more acceptable when the couple love eachother. The same as love,
sex is also an essential part of human being’s life. On the one hand, sexual activity implies
reproduction, the increase of society and on the other hand, having sex is an extremely pleasant
and enjoyable human activity.
I would like to remark that sex in relation to romantic love is necessary, because of the
fact that for being in love with someone you need to feel sexually attracted to this person.
However, for having sex not necessarily you have to be in love. People can perfectly have sex
without being in love with eachother. Although, this kind of sex relationship without love is not
very acceptable in society, it has more to do with the fact of satisfying a physical need. Plainly
speaking, society pushes us to be in love for having sex and this makes the pressure on falling in
love even stronger, because it implies at the same time the accepted possibility of having sex.
Furthermore, as love is “necessary” for having sex, it is also for getting married. How
could you live the rest of your life with a person you just don’t love?. You surely have a
financial or political purpose.
However, the aspect I would like to remark it is the pressure that society puts on us for
getting married. Marriage is the fundamental social institution It implies the beginning of the
family and the family is the base of society. Also, marriage is very related to religion and moral
principles. On these terms, if you are living together with your partner or if you just have sex
with your boyfriend without being married, you are called “liberal”, society makes you different
and what is more, sometimes you are victim of strong criticism.
In conclusion, love is fundamental for humanity, sex is essential in romantic love and
for reproduction and marriage is seen as the base of the family. If a person does not achieve
these three things during his life, he will be different in society, he will not be a part of the
usual. That is why people feel under pressure.
In my opinion, love is such a beautiful feeling, if society pushed me to fall in love I am
glad, because is the strongest feeling I have ever had and I have never been so happy. Secondly,
I think that sex is a fundamental part of a loving relationship. Love and sex together make
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people feel complete and happy. Romantic love without sex doesn’t exist and sex without love
doesn’t make yourself feel complete. Marriage is a more complex aspect, it is the base of the
family and the family is the base of society. It seems to me that a couple can be perfectly happy
whether they get married or not, however, I think marriage comes when the couple have made
the decision of having children, then, they will make a family.
Perhaps I have been quite influenced by society, I have already felt in love and in the
future I would like to get married, but why? The answer is that I belong to this society, I don’t
want to feel different from the others, so I prefer to follow the normal steps of everyone’s life
which makes me happy instead of being treated as a freak.
CUENTOS CARIBEÑOS
A4
Talking about the Caribbean island, we have to mention the economical fact, obviously.
In almost all of that islands, the economical fact is based on the tourism as the main
source.
A big percentage of the tourists visiting that areas look for relaxation, and a minor
number of tourists go for business.
From the point of view of the tourism as the main source, many Caribbean people take
advantage of this to earn money. So they work in hotels, restaurants or in any place near the
beach. Some of the are shopkeepers and have small or big shops where they can sell any kind
of food or souvenirs.
Tourists can visit beautiful places and beaches and eat whatever they want. The most
favourite places are the casinos. Tourist earn a lot of money or they lose it on bets.
In contrast, Venezuela takes a little advantage of the tourism. There are not enough
places for enjoying like casinos. Here in Venezuela tourists enjoy visiting national parks,
historical places or beautiful beaches. This is a natural attraction. People enjoy the nature.
Tourism in Venezuela is not the main source to make money because money is made by
the oil industry.
In conclusion we can say that Caribbean islands and Venezuela are a little bit different
from the touristical point of view. In the first one, tourism is the most important source to make
money, and in the second one tourism is one of the sources to make money but is not the most
important.
B4
My Mother
My mother makes us think about when we have to leave our country
and to start a new life in another country. This story shows the
differences between American culture and Jamaican culture, even
though the language is the same.
In addition, in view of the fact that the character is alone with her grandmother this one
represents her mother’s image, and what’s more, the character feels that she is completely in a
foreign country. In consequence, identity culture plays an important role in the story.
As regards this situation, we can analyse it in comparison with our feelings like a
venezuelans.
So, I shall be concerned, chiefly, in three points of this story which shows us the
differences between our native life and a new different culture.
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For example, in my mother the weather is a good reference which don’t ‘go unnoticed
and in this case clothes show it. “In New York twenty-three degrees is considered cold… And
here the merciful cold allowed for the constant sweater or the little scarf that covers the tell-tale
neck”
Indeed, are we ready for that when we go to another country? To get accostumed could
be very hard for us at the beginning.
In the story, there is a feeling of loneliness when the character says: “For I had seen my
mother for the first time in all those tense women’s faces, in all those heads hiding their age and
gentleness beneath the black, curly wigs”.
Sometimes, we feel the same thing and we imagine in many different places our people
and their characteristics which become an image.
Finally the language becomes, sometimes, something very hard and complicated. In the
story even though the characters spoke English, this one had to change the accent. “Only vague
hints like the necessity for me to speak like properly, however that should be”.
Venezuelans have lived something like that, chiefly, when they don’t speak English. So,
in the beginning this could provoke a strong emotional shock in a specific situation.
Are we ready if we want to leave our country? I think that we are not ready never. We have to
adapt and to have an opened mentality.
C4
The Thursday Wife and Bella makes life
The story “The Thursday Wife”, written by the Jamaican Hazel D Campbell shows the
life of a couple (Mary and Bertie) that lives in Kingston. They love each other very much but
the terrible economic condition is present in their lives. He does not want that his wife goes to
work because he usually thinks that someone else could love her, that is, he is a jealous man. So
they decide to separate foe a time, so that, he may find a job while his wife is in her sister’s
house. After a time, he returns to seek her because he finally found a very good job in a white
people house. But there is a problem: he must be in that house making several tasks and he is
not able to go to his house, only on Thursdays.
During many time, he went to home just on Thursday while Mary spent her life going to
church, and on Thursday, when they were together, they seemed to have a perfect life as a
couple. They had no problems. Nothing. She was accostumed to this life: be alone all the week
but not on Thursday.
Suddenly, after a long time he showed up in the house and told to Mary that he had
decided to quit the job because he found another one in which he could have a “normal”
schedule and be at home all nights with his wife. This was, apparently, fine. She was glad to
have her husband at home, but shortly, troubles appeared very often.
She used to be alone and the presence of her husband bother her. He began to forbid many
things to his wife like go to church, he used to return very late at home, and finally he was not at
home in a full-time as he said. She become one more time a “Thursday Wife”. The Behavior of
Bertie was very strange. Even, Mary realized that his husband had another woman with
children. That situation was very uncomfortable to Mary. After all, he realized that he must be
only with his wife but it is so late because she had decided not to be glad to him anymore.
In other Jamaican story written by Jorna Goodison which name is “Bella makes life” we
can see the change that a woman has after travel to New York. She has a good husband who
cares the children while she is making money working at the Big Apple. And when she comes
back to her house is totally different, almost she is another woman. Joseph, her husband, does
not believe all the things that she is doing like her new style, her way to speak and so on. He
wonders of the behavior of his wife in New York and does not resist her change. At the end she
decides to come back to America and he likes a woman who wants to have a simple life with
him because it seems that when people go to America, they change many things like his wife
and his friend Miss Blossom.
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We can see in these two stories few similarities but one of them is how people can
change their way in another ambiance. Bertie changes in the house in which he works and Bella
changes in N.Y. They become totally different that used to be and their couples are
uncomfortable because of the new behavior. Also, Bertie and Bella seems to have another mind.
They do not realize that their conduct is breaking their homes.
The idea of moving is quite important, Bertie and Mary move to the capital of Jamaica
in order to find a better life, and Bella moves to New York city to reach to reach this American
Dream that everybody pursues that movement shows the poverty that Caribbean countries have.
Finally is relevant to say that how a person does not know his/her couple in extreme
situation, Mary realized that does not knew her man and also Joe, Joe, and they are very bad for
the conduct of the person that they used to love.
D4
“The two grandmothers” is a story written by Oliver Senior and it is
based on letters that a Jamaican (black) girl writes to her mother
every time she visits her grandmothers on vacations. This girl
describes the experiences of spending time with her two
grandmothers: “Grandma Del”, the paternal one, lives in a poor little
town, she is rural, extremely poor, conservative, but a sweet, lovely,
and kind person. Since the girl was a child she loved to spend time
with he “Grandma Del”, she took her to church, she made her hats
and dresses “with her two hands”. She always gave her advices, she
made her feel special, she told her stories every nights, she took care
and loved her granddaughter. The girl had fun even though the
grandma did not have TV, or books or games to entertain herself.
When the girl grew up she started to spend time with her maternal
grandmother, who lives in a city, and who is a modern and a well
economic positioned woman; she is a very materialistic, selfish and
empty person. However, the girl likes her grandmother Elaine
because she is always giving her presents, and taking her shopping,
she makes her chocolate cakes, the girl spends all day watching TV,
her grandma promised to take her to Disneyworld…
Finally, the girl adopts urban attitudes and starts t reject rural, she did
not want to come back with her grandma Del anymore, in fact, she
wants to have anything to do with her poor and boring paternal
family.
This story clearly describes the division of a society, the way in
which both poor people and rich people live, think and feel, because
is not only the money which make them different, but their inside
feelings.
The story also make us realize how money and modern things, I
mean, the material world, transforms people, how these people live
on appearances, on an empty world. The girl preferred living with her
maternal grandma who gave her presents and took her shopping
rather than remaining in a boring town and a poor little house where
her grandma Del took care of her and make her feel special.
But this same story we can also see it in many countries around the
world: in Venezuela, for example, that is a country in which the 80%
of the population live in an extreme poverty, we can see how the
values and feelings are lost just to go towards the material things. I
know people who is poor and even thought they are poor, they are
always saying “I bought this, I bought that, I will travel this
weekend”, and so on. I seems they are living in a “dreamed world”
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What I think is that being poor is a condition that you can reject, of
course, you are going to look for a material and a personal
satisfaction, and that is what all this is about, but we can never deny
ad reject where we came from. Don’t let the money and the modern
and material world transform us in empty and insensitive people,
money is important, very important, but is not all we need.
I don’t know people from other countries, but Venezuelans like to
live on appereances, even thought they are poor. I see it stupid, if you
are poor, try to get better, fight and try to achieve (honestly) what you
want, don’t pretend something or someone who you are not!
E4
Comparison between: “The Thursday Wife” and “Bella makes Life”
These are two stories taked from “Caribbean New Wave”, and they relate the life of two
couples which are in the middle of changing of the society (Caribbean).
In the first story, the Thursday Wife, we can see how a couple that seemed to be in love,
lost their love. It begins with a woman and a man that get married but they have some economic
troubles, then, in order to get money, he has to stay in a family house all the time, and makes a
visit to his wife only once a week. At first he was very possessive and jealous and he didn’t
want that she went out to work, but went she was alone, all over the week, she get independant,
she made her own money and she had free time to herself. Then he changed of job and he had
time to be at home; the things were from bad to worst, he had others women and she realize that
she preferred her independency, she preferred to be alone.
The second story is about another couple but in this case, the woman is who go out the
house to the U.S to make money. The husband stay in Jamaica with the children (making the
house holds and working too). When the woman is in the U.S, she changes her way of dress, her
way of think, she becomes materialistic. She disdains Jamaican people and Jamaican way of
life, She said that they were behind the time. Her husband gets mad with her and finally, he
decides to have a relationship with another woman.
In both cases we can see how the changes of society affected these couples. Both
women realize that there is a better life in which they have more privileges, more funny and the
most important thing is that they do not depend of their husband. These stories are developping
on 50 and 60 years and maybe Caribbean countries were suffering the women liberation that
was happen around the world (specially at the U.S). These women understood that they can be
alone and they can be independent, they don’t have to have a husband to be accepted in society
without be criticize.
F4
ESSAY
The Thursday Wife summary.
The Thursday Wife, written by Hazel D Campbell, is a marvelous Carebbean story in
which different issues as poverty, domesticity, chauvinism, individual and social changes as
well as women independency take place to show the lived experience of the contemporary
Caribbean.
This short story describes the life of a young couple in Jamaica, Mary and Bertie, a
couple which started to have some problems shortly after they got married. In fact, things were
from bad to worse, Bertie could not find a job, they didn’t have enough money to buy food and
thy could not afford to pay the rent, so they had to stop living together, Mary went back to her
country to stay with her sister while Bertie could find a job.
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For six month they didn’t see each other, until one day Bertie came for her because
things had improved, he had found a job and now they could start again. However, the job
Bertie had found was a live-in job, he worked hard all week and only allowed a half-day on
thursday to be at home with his wife. So every thursday Mary, anxiously, waited for him, she
cleaned their small room, she prepared his favorite meal and when Bertie came home she was
always ready to accommodate him.
And so it went month after month, year after year, until Mary just got accustomed to be
alone, to cook for her and to go to the church every time she wanted to, indeed, she was
satisfied with her way of life. But, one day her husband came home to say by her side not just
on Thursday, as he used to, but to stay every day, he had left his live-in job and had got a better
one working as a waiter in a restaurant. But this event instead of been wonderful for Mary, was
almost tragical, in fact, her life had been changed in a drastic way. Now she had to cook for
him, to do the laundry, to iron his clothes, she had no place any longer to set her own things in
the small room, and, Bertie didn’t want her to go to the church. Which shows how she had to
curtail her activities because of the chauvinistic attitude of Bertie, who just wanted her to stay at
home.
Mary could not have friend and she could not work outside either, while Bertie was
been unfaithful to her. He had a relationship with a woman named Corrine, who was the housegirl were he used to work. Nevertheless, Mary was wary of everything, she did new about
Bertie’s affairs but she didn’t say a word. Things were like this for some time, indeed, Betie just
was coming home only once or twice a week, so she was a thursday wife once more.
And still she didn’t say anything because she though that “God
first and all things after”. When Bertie, in an irresponsible way,
stoped to give her money to pay the rent, she, independently, started
to sew to make money. They rarely made love, the young love didn’t
burned anymore, Mary didn’t know anything about him, he wasn’t
even any longer handsome to her, she did not have any feelings for
him, she didn’t love him any longer. It wasn’t that he was not
attractive anymore to her, but the fact that she felt she didn’t know
him, the fact that she had never known him. She just wondered when
he would finally leave her because they had never been a normal
couple, it was as if they had never been truly married. However,
ironically, while she though so, Bertie, who had recently begun a new
relationship with other woman, though that the best thing to do was
to come back to his wife because he was tired of his other demanding
women and Mary through all the years had never questioned him.
G4
A trip to Trinidad
Finishing my high-school studies I with my friend Edgar we decided
to spend carnival vacation in Cumaná. It was running the year of
1964 and from Cumaná we continue our trip to Carupano and to
Guiria .
In Guiria we was informed about the nice carnival of Trinidad and
about the probability of make a boat jump from Guiria to Trinidad for
80 Bs each. So we decided to continue our trip to Trinidad.
The boat was a 7mt “peñonero” which owner and capitain was a large
Negro called chu-chu-manguera.
The departure was pointed to 12 o’clock midnight.
We arrived sharp on the time and also about 5 more pasangers
Trinitarian people which worked in Venezuela, some Negros and
some arabs.
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The boat was driven by 2-60 hp. Jonshon out-board motors and was
loaded with 2-200 L/s barrels of gasoline and 4 tanks of ligalons
each.
The trip last about 4 hours between Trinidad and Venezuela we saw
the Chaca-Chacare island in which function a jail.
During the trip we make a friendship with “moncho” a Trinitarian
boy which work in the Callao Gold mines and was returning to
Trinidad visiting his family.
The boat left us near the coast in a flat beach about 5 am and we
walked in the sunrise to Port-Spain.
I remember a earth road with many cambur trees and poor but cleen
hauses in each side of the road.
During our arrival we found many friend and relatives of “Moncho”
who gently saluted us, extending in some cases a bottle of rum.
When we reach moncho’s house her wife and 2 girls about 6 and 8
full of joy welcomed us celebrating our arrival.
“mincho” give the instructions for mounting a sancocho, buying
some rum bottles and inviting some neibourghs for the night.
Inmidiatly there was haused to hamacas on the corridor of his rancho
in which we rest a few hours for the night party.
In the night begin to arrive neighbors with their respective musical
instruments Guitars, maracas, steal barrels, drums, etc, sitting near a
fire singing and drinking rum, dancing calipso and talking about the
negros and the Indians and whites, and the strange relation between
them. The days past quickly and hapylly between room, beach,
hotels, turists bars and girls.
Specially interesting was the attitude of young womans and girls to
the sex realation; in the poor people spetially of Indian race seems to
be acceptable the “prostitution” or sex prenous experience of young
girls before their marriage.
The return trip was complicated, the return boat don’t come in date
previously given.
And when the boat arrived we were long time ago run out of money.
In the back trip the boat was loaded with shrimp and bagages full of
whiskey and cheese.
In the night returning, we saw lights in the beach, hear some gun
shots and everybody began running when we arrived the beach.
We jum in our car an Opel Radet 1958 and drive out quickly from the
house of Chu-chu manguerea who happily don’t appear for his travel
trip pay.
My friend have some money hidden in his car that we spend in gas
arriving safe to Caracas.
H4
Essay- comparing “My Mother” and “Bella makes life”
In the stories “My mother” and “Bella makes life” there are some
similar and different elements. First of all, there are the aspects of the
characters and the setting: The two stories take place in Jamaica and
also the United States is mentioned, specifically the city of New
York. The characters are all Jamaican people who are very similar in
terms of behavior, appereance and habits. We could only mention one
aspect that is different about the characters; in “my mother” we do
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not know the name of the main character and neither her mother’s in
spite of their importance in the story, because it is based on them.
When it comes to the main theme, it is very similar in both stories. It
is about people who leave their hometown in the search for a better
life without taking into account their family, their friends and how
important they are. After leaving, they start a new life that changes
them so much that they care less and less about what they left and
they may never come back. This makes their family and friends’
feelings change as well, so they start caring less and less about the
one who left, it is not the same person for them and even death will
not make a strong impact on them, at least right away, and it should.
This fact is really important, because they have to realize that they are
giving up their whole life to material things, which cannot give them
love or support, but they think that they could really improve their
lives, when they are actually making it worse because they are
leaving the most important thing: their family, and without it, they
are all alone.
I4
Essay
The caribbean story “the two grandmothers”, written by Oliver
Senior, talks about a girl who writes letters to her mother, telling her
everything about her summer vacations with her grandmothers. In
each letter, the girl describes and expresses her feelings when she
visits one of them.
On one hand, she describes her grandmother Del and her friends as
old-fashioned, conservatives and religious people. They are black
people who live under rural conditions in Jamaica. On the other hand,
her grandmother Elaine, also called Towser, is a modern and rich
person, who has a lot of boyfriends and who travels wherever she
wants to go.
In the story, here is an important fact which is the color of the skin.
Her mother family is racist, because they are whiter than her father
family. Examples of these situations are Towser and Maureen;
grandma Elaine is ashamed of having family’s relations with black
people; also she doesn’t like a lot her granddaughter, ‘cause she says
that she got the worst parts of her father which is the color of the skin
and the curly hair. And Maureen refuses to play with her cousin,
because she considers that a nigger is not dignified to play with a
whiter person like her; so she told her “you’re a goddam nigger you
don’t know any better. Auntie Evie married a big black man and
you’re his child and you’re not fit to play with”
Throughout the letters, the reader can notice that the girl changes her
attitude. Before she was identified with her paternal grandmother’s
way of life, but while she is growing up she wants to get closer to
Towser’s culture. Her changes are so radical, she begins to prejudice
Del’s friends and the girls who used to play with her in her
childhood. Moreover, she criticizes that these black people are
ignorant an illiterate, because they don’t have a good pronunciation;
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and these women are sinner ‘cause they have babies without being
married.
She becomes more materialistic and it seems that she pretends to be a
white girl, while she is a nigger. She wants to forget her root by
spending more time traveling and going to parties than visiting her
paternal grandmother.
In my opinion, I won’t judge the girl, because it is one of the
characteristics of the developing country. People are always trying t
improve their lives by alienating another culture. However, I consider
that ignoring the origin is not the best way to make a better life,
‘cause it’s part of someone’s identity.
J4
Essay on the Caribbean
The Caribbean islands are very similar to latinoamerican countries in
terms of poverty, conservatism and opportunities of development.
For geographical and economical reasons a large population of these
countries are immigrants in the United States of America, “the land
of happiness and opportunity”.
In the next text of Lorna Goodison “Bella makes life”, Bella is a
Jamaican woman who goes to the States leaving behind her husband
and children in order to make some money and with the intention of
coming back. But when she comes back, her husband notices that she
is not the same woman, she had became liberal, extravagant,
materialistic and selfish, the American society had already influenced
on her. While her husband was working hard and looking after the
kids, she was enjoying herself in the States. At the end of the story,
her husband can no longer stand her and she just doesn’t find herself
in Jamaica and goes back to the States.
I would like to compare this story to a personal anecdote about a girl
who used to work as a domestic in my aunt’s house. Her name was
Minerva and she was living with her husband. After having worked
two years with my aunt, she made the decision of going to the States
because she wanted to make some money. By chance she started
working in a house of a woman she knew; this woman needed
someone for looking after her retarded son. At the beginning the time
was hard for Minerva, she couldn’t speak English and she was alone,
her husband was in Venezuela. However, her new job was not
difficult and it was well paid (much better than her job in Venezuela).
After one year she found a better job and her husband moved out
with her. She already spoke English and in her new job she was
earning even more money than my aunt in Venezuela!.
At the moment she is still in the States and she doesn’t want to come
back. There, she has all that she wants: an apartment, a very good job
and her husband. Sometimes she writes to me and once she sent me
$10 for my birthday.
A Bella, Minerva identified herself with the American society, she
changed, maybe not into bad as Bella did, but she is not the same as
before. In contrast to Bella, she took her husband with her to the
States, and how now they live quite well and they are not planning to
come back.
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GÉNERO
A5
In this essay I am going to talk about one of the theme I consider important which is
Sexuality in women. I am going to base on a documental we watched in class.
In the past, many women were repressed by culture, society even men. This situation
has had its consequence. Women thought and think that sex is something wrong. You cannot
enjoy sex if you are a decent or respectable woman. This situation has caused that women feel
bad, sad or depressed if they enjoy it.
The same thing happens in different countries and cultures While every woman has to
have just one man, man can have every woman they want. Men can be married several women
at the same time. This is called repression.
I think is unfair that every democratic Constitution demands Equality and says “All
citizens are equal”. But were is the Equality if women cannot have the same rights than men?
Many time equality is something artificial or superficial. I’m not saying that women have to
have the men they want. I am saying that a woman who wants to have many men has to be
respected by everybody. I am demanding Respect.
Nowadays a lot of women have to learn to enjoy sex and I am sure they have liberated
from many repressions and they start to feel good.
Also, they do not see sex as a sin anymore. They have learned that sex was created to be
enjoyed and not to be repressed because we cannot repressed something that starts life.
B5
Woman
The fight of women for taking part in the society began to appear in the middle of the
19th century. It will be a hard fight in order to defend their rights, ideals and dreams. In other
words, I think that it was a way that could be called “the right to integration”
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I think that the path of women in recent times, in my opinion, can be divided in six
parts: sexuality, birth rate, job, vote, politics, fashion and beauty.
One of the problems for women in the beginning was the love relation. It wasn’t easy,
the couple couldn’t feel passionately in love in front with others present. However, I admire
them because in that moment they had to face up to the sharp criticism and to gather up one’s
courage.
In the same way, birth rate had become something holy. Women had to face up to
criticism and judgement. Prevention was sinful and the person that practiced it was sinner. This
aspect is indeed a good example of courage for men which are sometimes coward in relation to
their responsabilities as a fathers.
On the other hand, women had the pressling need of working. So, industrial revolution
was a good opportunity to show their power.
As we know, the vote was a part of integration in the society. In this case, women had
to be very courageous, because angry crowds came and threw tomatoes, eggs at them.
Many women went to prison there they refused to eat, and so to break the law.
Thus viewed, I think that men can not judge women by saying that they are emotional
and not stronger and less intelligent.
Finally, I think that women had because a strong competitor which helped her to come
across really well in business. I say that not only the white woman has taken part in fashion and
beauty but also the black woman. This has established an important precedent that shows
women as an important actor in the field of fashion and industry and what’s more, to take
important decisions.
C5
Confessions of a Female Chauvinist Sow
The text written by Anne Roiphe is a brief image of the fight that have both women and
men. She says that is a belief that men think they are more powerful than women and that make
them feel that they have the authority to rule the life of women. Women have grown thinking
that they must be protected by men, they think that men have done many things in order to have
the world of our days, and it is true but not at all. Feminist movement has encouraged a wrong
idea to women: instead of fight for their rights, they must hate men. that anti-male thought is
dangerous because how can you hate a man that you live with or even more, how can you take
an anti-male position if in the inner self you want to spend your life with your “enemy”. So
what do women want to?
Nowadays we women have to prepare ourselves in order to get the autonomy which is a
need. And it is not to be equal or superior to men, it is because we do not trust them at all. We
do not represented utterly by a man that we do not know if at the next dawn will be on our bed.
But it is an inherited prejudice too. Many men affirm that women do not have to them the
chance to be with them and therefore they abandon women. (So, who is right, who is wrong?)
It is well known that women must take care of their children because they have that
natural condition within. That big fact, make them mere responsible than men? Probably yes,
who knows. The real thing is that we could have many tasks to do, but if we have a child we try
to be with him and we try to give to them all our maternal love. In contrast, men are less
responsible(of course, not all it is another prejudice) and their only thought is go to work and
support their family. Their main argument is that they do not have time to spoil the children, and
that they are weared out.
All prejudices are difficult to take out because we have grown up with them, and these
have been the fear of those women who treated to fight for their rights. But it was a
chauvinistic war in which women thought that they were more than men. But at the same time
men thought the same thing. So what do they want to?
These differences make them feel more attracted than they think. At the end they are together
with almost the same pattern of conduct. It will be the same old story in which men and women
end together and have children. So if we want to populate the world, we must stop the
chauvinistic fight.
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D5
During the whole humanity and society’s history many groups, many
peoples have been oppressed, they have been victims of
discrimination and that is just because of their religion, their color,
and even the gender. The gender discrimination, that is what I’m
writing about male specifically, the women’s discrimination.
Women, throughout history, have been object of oppression,
mistreatments, indifference, they have been ignored, they have been a
decoration and many times a nuisance for masculine gender. I agree
we are different, our way of being, of thinking and of feeling is
different from theirs. But it doesn’t mean that we can not do the
things that men do.
About this aspect I think that the culture, the familiar, school and
social education system influences completely in that way of seeing
the woman as a weaker, not intelligent and “useless” person, whose
occupations should be those of serving the men, cleaning the house
and taking care of the children; and the most apropiated jobs for them
are those of nurse, secretary, teachers, servant, I mean, “feminine
jobs”.
In the text “Schoolbooks and the female stereotype” is clearly shown
how, through the illustrations of the school textbook, girls grow with
the idea that “they should be ‘passive’ and ‘dependent’ creatures who
need aspire only to lives of service to their future husbands and
children”.
In the text is said that illustrations of schoolbooks always center on
boys rather than girls. And those boys that they are strong, intelligent,
independent and courageous. They are also depicted in jobs like
astronauts, policemen, cowboys, scientists, while the woman is
always depicted in passive roles. Usually they are inside a house,
helping with housework and taking one of the children. The role of
the woman on the book is usually that of mother and housewife.
Why is that? Women are as intelligent as men, and they have
demonstrated so, they have also demonstrated that they can do the
same activities than men: there are astronauts women, scientist
women, pilot women, why these all activities must be only to men?
We, as well as men, have the capability and the abilities to do it well,
so why don’t they just give us a chance?
The complete woman’s liberation won’t be achieve just when woman
are equal to men, but when men can also be equal to women. In fact,
a perfect equality won’t be possible if there is not and enough number
of men that, without loosing their “masculinity”, accept “feminine”
jobs like nurses, secretaries, etc. and enjoy the housework and accept
to take care of the children, but the most important thing is that they
can do all these activities with the same naturality than women.
The change cannot be in one direction, the “masculinization” of the world, it can be also
possible “feminization” of the world.
E5
Essay about gender
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Around the world we can find so many differents cultures and differents styles of life, but
there is an aspect that is shared by most of the societies and it is the fact that the human beins
have a lot of prejudices and steriotypes which put a big hall between women and men.
We can talk about all these gender prejudices, but in the articuls “Don’t talk, Listen!”
we could analize the big gender differences only taking into account the issue of language. This
articule was based on one experiments made with Britain students, and the result was that men
usually talk more than women. The arguments in which the author was based were some
steriotypes like: men are more powerful than women, and they use the language to dominate
them (women); to show their power, men interrupt when women are talking, then men are
unpolite; women always have been under men, so they (women) are obliging and polite, of
course they never interrupt men talking; women are always gossiping, they talk about shallow
things, so they are less intelligent and they can not say any interesting thing in conversation or
in class:
If we want to make a big list about gender stereotypes and prejudices, we can fill up a
lot of sheets with it, but using only few of them, we can realize that in our mind we have those
stereotypes and unconscious we stablish differences between males and females; we see men in
politicals positions and few women in those places, the big leaders in the history of all the
nations around the world have been men and few women, etc.
We saw those experiments made in England and we can see similar situations here in
Venezuela, maybe in the lowers social class, or in our daylife, and we live with it without
paying attention and we must realize that it is a situation expanded all over the world.
In my opinion as the “Don’t talk, Listen!” authors opinion, we must forget all the
differences, and start to think that we are not women and men, we are human beins.
F5
Select any of the texts studied, and use it /them as a starting point for a
brief essay on any aspect of gender issues.
I don’t know how many times I’ve been told that women are weaker than men, that
we’re supposed to take care of our homes and our kids because men are self-seeking,
irresponsible, aggressive and unkind people. Perhaps, most of us have been taught that men are
naturally amoral while females are more mature, we’ve been taught to accept the idea that men
are interested in things while women are interested in humanity, in fact, it’s not difficult to see
how we form stereotypes and how society makes us form different gender prejudices, as Anne
Roiphe tells us in her essay “Confessions of a Female Chauvinist Sow”.
I reckon that patterns we’ve been taught can affect our ways of thinking regarding to
gender issues, and as much as we develop our prejudices a feeling of superiority emerges, which
leads us to oppress or to discriminate others. Regarding to women, I think that only female’s
liberation movement would have since if we don’t eliminate the divisinnes which has largely
characterized relations between men and women. If we still having the idea that we’re superior
than men, an anti-male feeling could destroy our seek for equality because because we, who
have largely been an oppressed group, could become oppressors..
I also take into account the fact that it’s hard to women to see the prejudices we have
regarding to males because we have largely been isolated, one can see how men have kept us
out of their worlds, it’s difficult to realize how many times women have been ignored because
of the power men have had throw the history and it’s not easy to hide the fact that even
nowadays, in some societies, females do not have the same rights or opportunities that males.
But we should notice that if they treat us as inferior people, discriminating us, we call this
chauvinism, but wouldn’t it be the same if we did it to them.
From my point of view it doesn’t matter who is the oppressor and who is the oppressed,
this leads to the same: unequality.
Perhaps, we’re not more aggressive than them because we haven’t had the opportunity,
maybe they could be as protective as us if we give them a chance, if we trust them and stop
assuming that they are our intellectual inferiors, if we assume them able to take care of kids,
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indeed, the important thing is to get rid of prejudices, if we want equality we should start
believing in it.
G5
Essay about “Eurotrash”
I spend my weekend reading that short novel a sad story about
relation between strange couples a scotish citticen which was living
in Denmark.
The action beguin when our leading man the “Gallant” find in a bar a strange couple
which were drinking and talking. The women “Cris” was a repulsive type with a whore lookingaspect and the man “Mike” didn’t feel very happy about my intromission in their conversation
and relation.
Criss proposed go for a beach walk next day and I accepted.
At the walk criss asked me to drive her home which I did with some jelous and reluctant
actitude from Mike.
Arriving her home she took some hachis and proposed some anal sex arguing that her
cunt have some problem related with an improper use in the past.
She put me some Jelly in my dick and asked me to fuck her anus. During the following
days we spend some time together with Mike, but I was not very happy with that relation and
tell “Criss” that I don’t want any serious compromisse.
I was taking some Dutch classes to improve my language.
I begin a nice relation with a young and pretty girl set in opposition to the ugly and
vicious “Criss” and let other behind.
In one opportunity Criss catch me with Ana and perform an ugly scene “TAKE YOUR
FUCKING LITTLE SLUT AND GO BANK YOUR SILLY LITTLE GIRL YOU FUCKING
PAEDOPHILE I’M A REAL WOMAN”
Then that I heard a notice that a body of a woman had been found in a channel by
central station.
And receive a visit from Mike who recriminate me for murdering “Criss” and related
the real story about his relation with Criss they were lovers and bouth males and Criss
performed a sex change operation, a very traumatic one which caused her great distress and
make her a drug-adict by the consumption of drugs on the painkilling at her operation.
It was not clear if Criss dead was a suicide or an accident or an dark area between both.
I went to the funeral and met her fathers.
Is this Eurotrash or people looking for their spunge identity.
H5
Essay
Throughout history there has been a gender differentiation. Women
pass the stereotypes against men from one generation to another, so
they live their lives according to their prejudices, trying to avoid
suffering and abuses from men. After the feminist revolution in the
‘60s, these beliefs became even more powerful and women started to
participate en every movement or situation that men kept them apart
from: they started to work and this was one of the steps for women to
become stronger and independent.
However, as women tried to achieve their own space in society, they
also tried to reinforce the anti-male feelings which was a dangerous
situation because right now, after 40 years that system used by
oppressed women is affecting us in a negative way. Women do not
trust men anymore, they think men are not capable of loving anyone
more than they love themselves, that they are egotistical, immature,
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selfish, violent, thoughtless, etc. This current image of men that
women that men have in their heads is leading us to a different result
of what the feminist revolution was meant to accomplish: equality.
On the contrary, women feel superior to men, this makes them feel
morally better, because this way they think they are healing all the
injuries they have suffered for a long time.
Women have to stop making this division between men and women,
because it could become a permanent mark of our culture in he
future. We have to encourage equality of rights and obligations, and
also qualities, accepting that we could be as good, as intelligent as
any man but also that they could be as good, as loving and as tender
as we are.
This movement of women’s liberation has to start by sharing the
powers and the responsibilities between the two sexes and not
excluding the partner from the most important decisions of life, such
as marriage, family, work, children, etc. This can help us to erase the
old stereotypes from our minds and finally accept that both men are
women are on Earth for an important mission, which they have to
accomplish together in a way that they can accept and overcome their
differences and make them work for their own benefit, completing
each other. Otherwise, there would not be two sexes; sometimes it is
hard to accept, but if we think about it and work for it, we could
improve our lifestyles and bring a little armony to a world full of
hate and sadness and although it may sound corny, in the end is all
that we want.
I5
Politics of Housework
If we live in a society , why men and women don’t have the same
rights, the same opportunities and the same responsibilities.
Men and women have to agree to share the housework, but men will
always deny it.
Men argue that intelligent people have to do intelligent things and not
boring and silly works like the housework, because it humiliates
them. So they consider that the ones who are fit to do the chores are
the women, because women don’t have the same intelligence quotient
as men.
That’s why, every time that a woman demands her husband to do
some chores, he will put some conditions.
He will ask everything and everytime to his wife until she gets angry
and does the chore by herself. And if she doesn’t like his husband
schedule and his actitude, he can get a maid to help her.
These shows us, that men always have excuses to avoid doing the
housework, because the superior men won’t degrade themselves in it.
So, women have to do it, in contrast they will be punished by society.
In my point of view, these social laws are unfair, ‘cause no one is
superior than other, and nobody dominate the world. It’s just a
sterotype, because for example in my house both men and women
share and do the housework without any complain. Sometimes, I
think that my father and my brother do more chores than I, and I
think they do it not as a fun work but as a responsibility.
Finally, I think that the idea that men won’t give up their power in the
society and that they won’t give women the same opportunity in the
society is wrong, because nowadays women are more able to do
things that men are unable and women can live alone, while men
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always depend on women, because they don’t know how to do things
by their own.
J5
Select any of the texts studied, and use it/them as a starting point for
a brief essay on any aspect of gender issues.
The text “The Yellow Wallpaper” presents a critique of the women’s
position in society and how they are in a certain way emprisoned by
men.
In the story there are two levels of analysis: a superficial level where
it is presented a woman who is mentally ill, suffering from nervous
depression and hallucinations and a deeper level where this woman
through her hallucinations she presents the position of women in
relation to men.
In the text this woman gets obsessed with a yellow wallpaper. She
feels that there is something strange with it and she has to find out
what it is. After several days studying the paper she finally sees the
shape of a woman behind it, but why does she particularly see the
shape of a woman? Definetely the author wants to tell us something
the woman she sees behind the wall paper is emprisoned, and
considering the wall paper as society (the male society) and the
woman behind it as women in general, we can say that this is just a
metaphore that represents how women are emprisoned by men in
society. This woman behind the wall paper “is alway creeping” and
this shows how women have to do things society, because men don’t
let them.
An aspect that we should take into account is that the woman who is
mentally ill wants to help the woman behind the paper, she wants to
set her free and this represents the women’s attempt to break out of
the prison where men put them.
Considering that “the yellow” was written in 1900’s when women
didn’t have so many opportunities as nowadays and they were
absolutely dependent on men, with few opportunities to get by
without them, we can affirm that men did have women imprisoned as
this story reflects. Fortunately, women knew how to break out of this
imprisonment, at least in most of the western countries in the world.
However this is a “fight” that has not finished yet.
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