THE LANGUAGE ANALYSIS

Presenter: Mrs. Schaaffe - McFarlane

What is the Language Analysis?

The language analysis is an assessment of a piece of communication for the use of language conventions.

For the purpose of your I.A. the specified pieces of communication are: A short story A poem A drama piece/play

What is the Language Analysis?

The specified pieces of communication which will be written by you the candidate will be assessed for:

Language Registers Dialectal Variations Attitudes to Language Communicative Behaviours

Requirements

The analysis should not exceed 350 words.

The sample of work must be original. The analysis should address two (2) of the

language conventions. A second copy of the reflective piece should

be placed in the appendix of the portfolio. Additionally, the sections used in the analysis should be colour coded and a key provided at the bottom of the page.

Marking Criteria

The language analysis is assessed by the examiner for: Content: the analysis of the two elements

selected. (8 marks)

Expression: clarity and fluency of the analysis with control of grammar and syntax (5 marks)

Organization: contains an introduction, proper development, conclusion and coherence (5 marks)

Language Registers

Dialectal Variations

Attitudes to Language

Communicative Behaviours

The Language Conventions

Language Registers

Refer to the kind of English appropriate to a particular purpose or situation.

They refer to the formality/informality and tone that are correct for a specific context.

The suitability of a register is dependent on: The audience The subject-matter The medium The writer’s attitude toward the content

Types of Registers

Formal – used in formal social settings, almost always involves the use of S.E.

Casual – used in non-formal settings, usually marked by slangs and ellipses.

Intimate – used between people who are very close, has minimal sentence structure, ellipsis, non-verbal elements, specialized words and phrases.

Types of Registers

Consultative – used in situations where the listener is required to give some form of continuous feedback based on info provided by the speaker.

Frozen – for use in print and public speeches where no direct response is expected from the reader or listener.

Dialectal Variation

This refers to the spoken and written differences in the use of language within a speech community.

Speech related variation within the Caribbean may all be located on the Creole continuum.

Acrolect

Mesolect Basilect

Dialectal Variation

In commenting on dialectal variation the student needs to be aware of the different types of English used and spoken in the Caribbean. These include: Foreign English Radio & Television English Erudite English Colloquial English Rasta English Profane English

Attitudes to Language

Attitudes to the varieties of English spoken in the Caribbean result from a number of factors including historical and social ones.

Crucial to the attitude one adopts are two considerations: The association of Education Formality and good taste with Standard English

and the question as to whether Creole English is fitting and appropriate for certain uses.

Attitudes to Language

Positive Attitudes Pride Confidence Celebration Acceptance Approval Respect Worth Trustworthiness

Negative Attitudes Contempt Shame Ridicule Disgust Rejection Disdain Scorn Skepticism

Communicative Behaviours

This refers to communicating impressions to others without being aware of doing so (unconscious) and without even wishing to do so (inevitable).

Communicative Behaviours

The elements are: Vocalics Proxemix Artifacts Movement Chronemics Our Five Senses

A Short Story Extract

Analyzing a Piece

Tee took longer than usual to get dressed. Her hand lingered around her puffy nipples as she slipped on her raffia brassiere and the tension in her G-string confirmed that her delicate curves were now fuller. Weeks ago she had began noticing that every time she smelled the car fumes at the club she wanted to puke. Now these changes. At least Miss D had not noticed. The men who frequented the “Plum Plum Night Club” in Jones Town had only praise for her increasing voluptuousness.

“A wha so? Browning you look sawsy!”“Mi say di likkle gal bubbly yu see man… she can ride my boat any time.”

The broke-pocket regulars would lust from a distance or run the occasional rude joke with her. Other patrons – the owners of Bimmers and Escalades – also came to savour the sassy little number from St. Thomas. Sometimes she would let them buy her drinks and when she felt like it she would go with them; sometimes to the back streets and back seats of their cars, sometimes to their expensive homes in Cherry Gardens. Conrad always insisted on taking her to a hotel. At their second conversation when he asked her why they called her Tee, she told him it was short for Nefertiti.

“That’s a special name for an African Princess,” he told her and from that time she was his special. In his company, she relished his polished way of speaking to her and the little gifts he often ‘surprised’ her with. Once, after one of their Thursday ‘appointment’, he had given her a genuine “Gucci timepiece”. He would never force or rush her like some of the others. Now with things as they were, she had to tell Conrad. She had heard he was from a well to do family, had been to university abroad and now worked with an investment bank in New Kingston. She had tried to learn more about him but such attempts always ended in the same way.

“Connie, we’ve been together now for eight months… and I hardly know anything about you… like where you live… or where you work”. “It’s not about me baby”, he remarked without looking at her. “It’s all about you princess” he assured her as he got dressed. Later in the Bimmer he told her he had to travel. No, he did not know how long he would stay away but sure he would call her as soon as he got back. After all she knew she was his Thursday Night Special. Sure, of course he would bring back something for her.

An extract from “The Dancing Princess”From Stories my Father Told me and Other Tales

By H. N. McDermott © 2000Pg. 490 – 493 CAPE Communication Studies

Writing the analysis

Organize your essay by having

An introduction: this can contain a synopsis of the written piece as well as the two language conventions to be analyzed.

The body: this should be two paragraphs at least; one for each convention

The conclusion: this should say how the conventions identified functioned in the overall piece.

Writing the Analysis

When analyzing your piece of communication, you can follow this simple three step process.

1. State the Convention and the specific element within it that you will be analyzing E.g. Language Registers – Intimate Register

2. Give an example of the element E.g. ‘Alright Pookie Poo’

3. Analyze the element, by looking at its function, the effect it had, the information it gave etc. E.g. The use of the specialized term ‘Pookie Poo’ serves to highlight the closeness of the relationship between Ricardo and Sandy.

Analyzing Registers In the extract from “The Dancing Princess” the writer

utilizes a number of Language Registers. One such register is the c a s ua l re g is te r. Evidence of this is seen when the patrons said “A wha so? Browning you look sawsy!”

“Mi say di likkle gal bubbly yu see man… she can ride my boat any time.” The patrons use Jamaican Creole and speak in a casual tone to Tee because of the type of job she does. Because she is an exotic dancer, the patrons did not feel that it was necessary to speak to her in a formal or respectful manner. Also, the fact that they are likely from the area, which is an inner city community, means that they are more likely to speak in Creole.

Analyzing Dialectal Variation Throughout the extract, different characters use

a variety of language forms. The a c ro le c ta l variety is used by Conrad when he speaks to Tee. “It’s not about me baby” and “It’s all about you princess”. This variety is expected as Conrad is from a well to do family and is educated. He uses the a c ro le c t as he is also trying to impress and assuage Tee and this type of variation makes him seem more sincere. It is also in stark contrast to the crude language of the other men; hence, Tee is led to believe that she and Conrad are in a relationship.

Analyzing Attitudes to Language A positive attitude towards Standard English is

shown by Tee. This is seen where Tee says about Conrad’s language that she “relished his polished way of speaking to her”. This shows that Tee takes pleasure in hearing Conrad speak the Standard English and prefers this type of language which she associates with his superior status. This is in contrast to the other patrons who speak creole and who she refer to as “broke-pocket”.

Analyzing Communicative Behaviours

The writer of the extract utilizes the Communicative behaviours artifacts, movement and our five senses in the piece. The use of artifacts is seen in Tee’s description of the gifts given to her by Conrad as well as the things he owns. He gives her a genuine “Gucci timepiece” and he drives a ‘Bimmer’. He can also afford to take her to a hotel whenever they meet. These artifacts serve to strengthen the idea of Conrad as a rich/well to do man who has some amount of influence over Tee.