Grammar

Grammar

Grammar covers everything from bits of words to entire sentences.

1. grammar is a set of structural rules that control how language works.

2. There a three aspects - word classes, syntaxes, and morphology.

3. Word classes define the roles of each word in a sentence, syntaxes control where each word class can appear in a sentence, morphology describes the construction of each individual word.

There are eight main word classes:

Word Class	Function	Example
Nouns	‘naming’ words/things	London, book, romance
Adjectives	Describes nouns (sometimes pronouns)	Large, sunny, featureless
Verbs	‘Doing’ words	Jump, read, return
Adverbs	Describes verbs (sometimes adjectives and other adverbs too)	Steadily, incredibly, sadly
Pronouns	Take the place of nouns	You, they, me, him, it
Conjunctions	‘connecting’ words	And, or, but, because
Prepositions	Defines relationships between words in term of time, space and directions	Before, underneath, through
Determiners	Give specific kinds of information about a noun e.g. quantity and possession	A, the, two, his, few, those

Word class rules:

Word classes can have different positions within a sentence, but their are rules about how they work together.

e.g.

She saw the new manager and his assistant at the store yesterday.

She	saw	the	new	manager	and	his	assistant
pronoun	verb	determiner	adjective	noun	conjunction	determiner	noun

at	the	store	Yesterday
preposition	determiner	noun	adverb

1. People instinctively know the rules for connecting words. you can rearrange word into making an understandable sentence.

2. People also know less obvious rules, like saying an adjective of size before colour e.g. the big brown bear.

3. Sometimes there are less restrictions, some sentences make sense whichever way it is put, especially adverbs.

4. Sometimes the meaning of a sentence changes depending on where the word is.

Word formation/morphology:

Grammar affects morphology because inflections can be added to change the number or tense.

• S is added to change singular to plural.
• ED is added to change the tense to past.

Influencing the reader through grammar:

•  Tense- Events that happened in the past can be described in the past tense or sometimes in present tense forms. If it is past tense, there is a clear indication that some time has passed since the actual event. However, present tense makes a ore immediate and dramatic.
• Plurals- Plurals can increase the scale of a scene as well. e.g. a mass of people vs. masses of people.
• Adjectives- Using simple or superlative adjectives can have different effects. 

Grammar Article:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-33273707
This article is about the new meaning of the word 'silo' and it's controversy. I believe that people should not be shocked over this new development of the word because many words change meaning and adapt according to our modern society and the way that our language has changed in its use.

Analysis of a text - college agreement

ANALYSIS OF TEXT - 'Agreement between the College and Students'

The primary purpose of this text is to inform the students of the College's expectations and to formulate an agreement between the student and the College about expectations, behaviour and so on. The text is designed to educate the students about what the college will provide and vice versa. We can see that the audience of this text is the prospective students of the college as the first subheading in the passage directly addresses the intended reader as 'you', this informs us that the person is aware of what the text is about. Furthermore, in the first paragraph, it is outlined that the college is speaking to and negotiating an agreement with the students.

 

Firstly, the graphological features of the text make us aware of the formality and seriousness of the content, this reinforces the purpose of the text also. Throughout the extract, a simple ariel font is used. I think that this is because this way there is no elaborate distractions from the writing and this will keep the readers focus onto what is important. Additionally, the text is relatively small and this means that the reader becomes aware of the formality once again. The bullet pointed discourse structure makes the text easy to read, this is important because it shows that the students are young and appreciated their unwillingness to read lengthy and wordy texts, this adds to the effect and purpose of the text. Below the first list is a statement written in capital letters, this makes this part of the text stand out hand highlights its importance to the reader.

 

Throughout the text is a use of different types of word classes and word phrases. To begin with, noun phrases are used in order to make certain parts of the text stand out. For example, one of the first bullet points says, 'initial and continuing guidance about courses'. This noun phrase elaborates on the head word 'guidance' and provides a more detailed explanation of the type of guidance that can be expected from the college. The post-modifier in this phrase is the informative part and contains two

 disyllabic words to describe the guidance. This implies that the writer is educated and professional which is expected of a college, therefore this meets the expectations of the reader. Another type of phrase used is the verb-phrase which highlights the importance of actions that will be carried out by either the college or the student. One example of this is in the middle of the text, where the student is asked to, 'please read this carefully'. The head word within this phrase is 'read', this is an imperative word which instructs the reader of what to do. This harsh word however, is softened by the pre-modifier of 'please'. This turns this verb phrase into a more inviting imperative sentence which makes the college seem kind and non-intimidating. Furthermore, the post-modifier, 'carefully' reinforces the significance of the text to follow and makes the reader see its importance.

A type of word class used within this text is the verbs, particularly modal. One example of this is within the first subtitle, 'the college 'will' provide for you'. This modal verb makes the text seem serious and proposes a promise to the prospective students because the word 'will' is definite and decisive, informing the students of the security of this promise.

Another word class used within this text is pronouns, predominantly in first person such as 'we', 'you, and 'us'. This impacts the reader but portraying inclusiveness and solidarity. This is important because student will want to feel belonging within a college and so this will appeal to the reader.

 

In conclusion, this text uses a variety of linguistic levels in order to create a formal piece of writing which fits in with the purpose of the text. The graphological features along with the discourse structure allows the reader to be focused on the page and to be able to simply comprehend the writing. This along with the grammar used makes the text easy to read and therefore a successful text as its purpose is achieved.

 

Deixis and Lexis

LANGUAGE LEVELS

Deixis:

Deixis refers to words and phrases that cannot be fully understood without additional contextual information. For example;

1.     Person deixis = I, me, you

2.     Spatial deixis = here, there, left, right

3.     Temporal deixis = now, then, today, tomorrow

 

Lexis

Simply, lexis means words. It is also the collective term of the word stock or vocabulary system of a text.

Lexis is more than the dictionary definitions of words however.

Examples of this includes:

-         Synonyms, words with the same meaning. E.g. happy, joyful.

-         Antonyms, words with opposite meanings. E.g. happy, sad.

-         Hyponyms, one word within a class. E.g. a daisy is a flower.



Pragmatics and Semantics - Goffman and Grice

LANGUAGE LEVELS

Pragmatics and Semantics:

Pragmatics is the study of the implied and intended meaning of a text. Most of the time we can only understand the pragmatics if we understand the context.

For example; ‘that man is a bastard’.

-         Can mean that his parents are not married.

-         Could mean that he isn’t very nice.

Semantics is the literal meaning of words.

 

 

A theory for pragmatics/semantics is, ‘Grice’s Maxims’. According to Paul Grice, speakers adhere to 4 conversational maxims. It is also known as the ‘co-operative principle’.

1.     Quantity – use the appropriate amount of detail

2.     Quality – speak the truth and don’t knowingly mislead people

3.     Relevance – keep what is being discussed on topic

4.     Manner – avoid vagueness and ambiguity

Politeness is known as the ‘super-maxim’, this is to be mindful of others face needs.

 

The ‘face theory’ was developed by Erving Goffman. He was a sociologist studying individuals through overt observation. His theory says that individuals have positive and negative face needs.

-         Positive = associated with feeling appreciated and valued.

-         Negative = the desire to feel independent and to not be imposed upon.

Interactions have the potential to be ‘face threatening acts’ (FTA).



Discourse Structure - William Labov

LANGUAGE LEVELS

Discourse Structure:

Discourse structure is the way in which texts are organised and sequenced.

-         How does the text start?

-         What is the sequence of sections in the middle?

-         How does it finish?

Discourse means any form of language, whether it be written or spoken.

Structure	Examples
Non-sequenced lists	·         Shopping list ·         To-do list
Sequenced lists	·         Recipes ·         Terms and conditions ·         Instructions
Logical arguments	·         Persuasive articles ·         Debates
Problem/anxiety solution	·         Adverts (establish a problem and provide a solution)
Desire fulfilment	·         Advertisements (make us feel desire for a product)
Analysis and explanation	·         School essays
Narrative accounts	·         News reports ·         Short stories

 

Spoken Discourse Structure:

When a speaker is talking for a long time, we can say that they are narrating.

The sociolinguist, William Labov, developed six narrative categories. He came up with this theory by interviewing different people and analysing the way in which they spoke.

1)  The abstract.

The indication that a narrative is about to start, the speaker tries to gain attention.

 

 

2) The orientation.

The setting of the scene; who? What? Where? When? Why?

 

 

 

3) The complicating action.

Essentially the main body, providing detail about the story.

 

 

4) The resolution.

The final events, giving the narrative closure.

 

 

 

5) The evaluation.

Additions to the basic story of the narrative. To highlight attitudes and opinions.

 

 

6) The coda.

A sign that the whole narrative is complete.

 

The evaluation comes in two parts according to Labov:

 

- External – added by the narrator at the time of recounting and is not usually part of the story. For example, ‘now comes the good part’

 

- Internal – Occurs within the complicating action.

          1.       Intensifying – contributions via gestures, dramatic sounds, etc.

          2.       Explicative – Providing reasons for dramatic events, e.g. Fred annoyed his mum because he was noisy.

 



Graphology- Saussures

 

LANGUAGE LEVELS

Graphology -  is those features which contribute to the appearance of a text on a page.

e.g.

·        Fonts

·        Colours

·        Size

·        Capitalisation

·        Bold/italic/underline

·        Layout (columns, graphs etc.)

·        Photos/images (graphs. Images)

 

Semiotics:

Semiotics is a distinct part of graphology associated with signs.

It was developed by Ferdinand Saussure.

Sign = a logo/image with a meaning outside of text. For example a toilet sign.

Iconic Sign = a direct picture (often simplified) of what it represents e.g. a car park

Symbolic Sign = usually defined by cultural convention, in which a sign draws on an association or connotation e.g. a school logo.