Initial Assessment Analysis 18/09/15

Initial Assessment Analysis

 

 

Utterance- speaking language version of a sentence

 

Participants- who's taking part in the transcript

 

Turns- for how long you speak for (every time someone else speaks it's a new turn)

 

Dialogue- two or more people speaking

 

Latching- no pauses at end of a turn

 

Idiolect- your unique way of speaking

 

Dialect- the way you speak due where you come from

 

Jargon- specifically associated with a subject- when you know what you're talking about

 

Lexis- word

 

 

GRAPE should be at least referenced in every paragraph as well as context

Point- x uses y to z                                                                                                               x= who

Evidence- quote with plenty to talk about or multiple quotes                                             y= technique
Eplanation- which specific techniques in the quote work in                                              z= effect
which ways (be tentative)  


Write concisely and avoid tautology (saying the same thing in two different ways)

Avoid contractions

Avoid 'this shows'

Avoid 'a lot'

Use more than one piece of evidence per point to show patterns of use (boosts grade)

More in depth paragraphs are better than lots of short paragraphs


Producer/speaker can imply something
You can infer something
 

Mode 08/09/15

Mode

 

Mode- the way something is written (pictures, speech, written)

 

Multimodality- texts that have more than one type of mode (e.g webpage)

 

Paralinguistics- everything in spoken apart from words (e.g laughter, gestures, tone, volume, speed)

 

 

 

Writing	Speaking
Monologue	Dialogue
Planned	Spontaneous
Durable	Ephemeral
Grammatically complex	Grammatically simple
Formal	Informal
Objective	Interpersonal
Decontextualised	Contextualised

Interpersonal- influenced by who you're talking to

Register of text- formality of text

Language is Changing Article 21/09/15

Just FYI, the English Language is Evolving

Nowadays, the English language is going through some major changes which is mainly due to the influence the younger generation has on it. Abbreviations are frequently being created to decrease the time taken to text or type, but are these actually words? Are they appropriate to use in every day conversation?

Acronyms such as "LOL" or "BFF" are replacing words used in every day speech and as a consequence standard English appears to be deteriorating. There is an increase in slang used in speech, particularly in the younger generation.

The younger generation is surrounded by social media which means it has a high influence in their lives. Furthermore, slang and abbreviations are perceived as an essential key to using and contributing to social media sites such as Instagram and Snapchat. Therefore, children are growing up surrounded by acronyms used as words so they cannot be blamed for discerning them as normal contributes to English.

Betty Birner, from the Linguistic Society of America, says  "Language is always changing, evolving, and adapting to the needs of its users. This isn't a bad thing". However, most adults admit that they can't understand parts of conversations the younger generation have between themselves. Why would the English language change if a large part of its speakers can't comprehend the new words?

Birner explains that the English language "changes because of the needs of its speakers change. New technologies, new products, and new experiences require new words to refer to them clearly and efficiently". Ergo, the mind-boggling new words are being created as a consequence of the mind-boggling miracles made from modern technology.

Despite the fact that this evolutionary jump in language is apparently natural, what about the people left behind?  The question is, should parents be worried about not being able to understand their children and should schools encourage or discourage these changes?

Many teachers are worried the effect slang could have on student's grades as many teenagers have begun to be unable to tell some formal words from informal words. Some schools have even gone to the extreme and banned slang from their premises.

The majority of the older generation appear to associate teenagers who use slang with gangs or lower social classes. However, they have a very discriminating and stereotyping view as most would be shocked to learn that slang is used all over the country and in all social classes.

Furthermore, slang is an essential part in the English language developing. This is because a lot of slang that was used in later years has become part of everyday conversation nowadays. For example, some slang from the 1920's is completely understood today. People have no problem understanding words such as "crush" or "fall guy" or "heebie-jeebies" which was slang in the 1920's .

Therefore, overall, even though the new slang emerging these days appears to be daunting, experts insist that is an entirely natural course of nature. The English language has been highly changed since the times of Shakespeare and will continue to adapt to the new cultural aspects of the world which will appear in the future.


Source: http://www.linguisticsociety.org/content/english-changing

Advertisement in Spoken Language 14/09/25

Advertisement in Spoken Language

Tetley tea- "Make time, make Tetley"                                        Talk Talk- "UK's safest broadband"

Marmite- "You either love it or you hate it"                               "Make delicious custard with Bird's"

T-shirt- "Nothing to wear"                                                           Turkey- "They're bootiful"

Smoking advert- "Filter your life"                                               Nike- "Just do it"

Coca Cola- "Friendliest drink on Earth"                                      Skittles- "Taste the rainbow"   

Burger King- "It will blow your mind away"                              T-shirt- "I woke up like this"

Dr Pepper- "Evolution of flavour"                                               Tesco- "Every little helps"

L'Oreal- "Because you're worth it"                                               Penguin- "Ppp pick up a penguin"

KFC- "It's finger licking good"                                                    McDonalds- "I'm lovin' it"

Virgin- "It's time to escape with Virgin"                                      Burger King- "Have it your way"

Broadband- "Shop till you drop with no broadband limit"          Coca cola "Share a coke with..."

Frosties "It's grrreat"                                                                    Asda- "You're better off at Asda"

Ribena "You can't get any more ribenary"                                   Costa- "Welcome coffee lovers"


 

Most of the adverts are sort and snappy such as Nike "Just do it". This makes it effective because it's easy to remember and dramatic. The short phrase ensures that all the advert is focused on one subject- the product. The phrase "Just do it" is an imperative as it is telling its audience what to do. The tone is aggressive and undermining, almost as if it is taunting the target audience and inferring that it would be cowardly not to "do it".

Numerous adverts also use contractions such as McDonalds "I'm lovin' it". The contractions make the sentence less formal and therefore more approachable as if the company seems less professional then the customers are more likely to let their guard down and relax. Furthermore the contraction "I'm" allows the sentence to flow faster which has a big impact on the advert as it allows them to get their message across efficiently with less chance of the target audience getting bored. Moreover, the contraction "I'm" put stress on the verb "lovin'" which emphasises that promise of enjoyment from McDonalds; however, if 'I am' had been used instead it would have put stress on 'am' which would have emphasised the personal opinion on enjoyment where McDonalds want to persuade people that everyone will enjoy and therefore would not want to focus on one person's opinion.

Various adverts use hyperbole like Burger King "It will blow your mind away". Obviously, the product will not literally "blow" the customer's "mind away" but the imagery is effective as it allows them to build a sense of excitement about the product. Furthermore, the hyperbole has a tone of overconfidence which some customers may view as a challenge. This is because the hyperbole implies the company is so confident about their product they are showing off about it and some customers may be intrigued to test if it is really as good as the insist it will be.

Several adverts, like L'Oreal "Because you're worth it", use synthetic personalisation. This creates a false relationship with the audience and makes them feel as if they are being addressed individually. This is effective as it makes customers feel as if the people on the advert are advising them and as if they know them personally, like a friend. The determinate "you're" picks out the target audience easily as if the advert doesn't affect you then you aren't the target audience as only they would be interested in hair products. Furthermore, the advert assures the target audience that they are "worth" their product which suggests to them that the product is of high quality and tehy would be treating themselves if they bought it.

Some adverts changes the spelling of a word to play with the sounds so they link with the picture. For example, Frosties' slogan is "It's grrreat" which can be associated with the tiger which is the products mascot. The target audience is children which is shown with the cheerful play on a sound and animal well-known to children so the advert would be memorable to them. The Bernard Mathews' turkey advert "They're bootiful" also plays with the spelling of a word to change the sound. Bernard Mathews was a famous farmer from Norfolk so the spelling of "bootiful" is to make it sound like his iconic accent. By changingthe way a word is spoken, the advert is more memorable as many people wouldn't be used to hearing the word pronounced like that, therefore making it stand out from other adverts.

Is Diversity in Spoken Language Valued or Devalued? 15/09/15

Is Diversity in Spoken Language Valued or Devalued?

http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/oct/18/census-2011-england-wales-diversity-languages-map     Last accessed 15/09/15

The article in the Guardian concerning the 2011 consensus about the diversity of languages in England and Wales shows us that despite English being the language spoken most commonly, there are a large variety of other languages spoken. The article describes how there is “data on almost 100 verbally spoken languages with 4.1m people reporting a main language other than English (or Welsh if they lived in Wales)”. This shows there are a large range of people who speak diversely to Standard English which suggests diversity in spoken language is valued as there are many people who speak another language who could offer support to other people in the same position. Furthermore, the article tells us that “in London alone, just over 690,000 people considered a European language which wasn’t of British origin as their main language” and describes London as a “global city” which shows that people who speak other languages are mixing with only English speaking people; therefore, the English language is being influenced by other languages as people who speak something other than English are integrating with only English speaking people in major cities.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29206260       Last accessed 15/09/15

This BBC article describes how many Australian migrants find jobs hard to find due to language blocks. A Chinese migrant explains how “language is the first priority to mix with the locals” so he went to school to learn English. However, the article goes on to explain how a lot of the time being able to speak English still isn’t enough for migrants to find work and there is “prejudice” against people from non-English speaking backgrounds. An expert admits in the article that “often people who have got names such as Mohammed or Abdul are not even getting that opportunity of being interviewed”. This shows that in Australia diversity in spoken language is devalued and many peple from a non-English speaking background are discriminated.

https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/work-poverty-ethnicity-and-workplace-cultures        Last accessed 15/09/15

This article describes how many low paid workers are from ethnic minorities. It explains how nowadays there is more demand for workers with higher skills but workers from ethnic backgrounds have a less chance of getting the opportunity to develop higher skills as “Power imbalances between managers and low-paid workers shape daily interactions in which some workers were recognised and included, while others are marginalised”. The article describes how even when people from non-English speaking backgrounds have got jobs, they still find limitations to their opportunities. 

Liked and Disliked Words 04/09/15

Liked and Disliked Words

Word Groups:

Food:                           Adjective:                       Taboo:                     Non-standard uses:       

Asparagus (D)              Amazing (L)                    Clunge (L)               Literally (D)

Gravy (D)                     Lush (L)                          Shag (D)           (x2)Like (D)            

Honey (L)                     Peng (D)                   (x3)C*nt (D)                 Trust (D)

Sprout (D)                    Sanguine (L)                    B*llend (L)              Sweat (D)

Nugget (D)                   Naive (L)                         Slut (D)                   Mint (D)

                                    Inconvenient (L)

                                    Moist (D)

From this data I have learned that people both like and dislike words for a variety of reasons such as the connotations they may have with the word or simply because of the word's pronunciation. For example, almost all the positive adjectives are liked which infers that people prefer to think about words which are used to describe things nicely than focus on negative views. This is further emphasised with the taboo words as many of them are disliked which shows people dislike to hear insults. 

The data shows that almost everyone disliked their word if it was a food. This may be because they actually dislike the food so they associate the bad experience they had with the food with the word and therefore dislike it.

The data shows that everyone disliked a word if it was used in a non-standard way. This infers that people dislike the way slang can ruin the structure and grammar in English. Furthermore, it suggests that they dislike change and how the English language is evolving and would prefer if it was kept the way they are comfortable with.

Key: (L) = Liked

         (D) = Disliked