Exploring Language

Language Under the Microscope

Thursday 21st October 2021

Breakfast: 9.35am

A Level English LanguageRecap:

1. Recap and complete notes on language levels

2. Developing analytical skills (parsing)

3. Feedback on analysis of the Winnie the Pooh Thimble Collection advert.

4. Practice analysis – travel writing piece on the coastal resort, Margate.

5. Written response – ‘Yet So Near’

What are Language Levels?

Lexis and Semantics: the vocabulary of English, including social variation.

Grammar, including morphology: the structural patterns and shapes of English at sentence, clause, phrase and word level.

Pragmatics: the contextual aspects of language use.

Discourse: extended stretches of communication occurring in different genres, modes and contexts.

Lexis

•Formal or informal register

•High frequency lexis (words that appear often in everyday speech)

•Low frequency lexis (words that appear more rarely, such as specialist terms).

Lexis - word classes

•Nouns•pronouns•Adjectives (comparative/superlative)•Verbs (tenses /regular or irregular)•Adverbs•prepositions•Determiners•Conjunctions•Modals (epistemic/deontic)

Semantics

•Denotation•Connotation•Collocation•Semantic fields•Polysemy – when words change sense according to context. Eg. Paper –newsagents, student in an exam, stationers, a senior academic, politician.

Grammar - phrases

•Noun phrases (determiner, pre-modifier, head, post modifier)

•Adverbial phrases (process, spatial, temporal)

•Verb phrases (was running, had been running etc)

•Adjective phrases (very enjoyable and exciting etc)

Grammar – clause elements

•Subject

•Verb

•Object (direct/indirect)

•Complement

•Adverbial

Grammar - clauses

•Main clause

•Subordinate clause

•Conditional clause

•Minor sentence

•Relative clause

Grammar - sentences

•Syntax (the chosen order of the words)

•Simple

•Compound

•Complex

•Active or passive voice

Sentence types

•Declarative

•Interrogative

•Imperative

•Exclamative

Pragmatics

•Implied meanings and how these are communicated

Discourse•Discourse structure – how the text is structured according

to its purpose and context.

•Eg.

•Emails and text messages – Greeting, main content of communication, farewell (or valediction)

•Recipes and instructions – List; progression through numbered stages with commands (imperatives) in each one.

•Adverts – Problem is defined (body odour) and a solution is presented (deodorant)

•Critical essays - Introduction followed by, perhaps and argument and then a counter argument; conclusion)

•News articles – First paragraph summing up the story and its participants; story itself.

Developing analytical skills

Parsing a sentence

This means to break a sentence down into all of its component parts, such as word classes, phrases, clauses, and considering what the whole sentence is in terms of grammar and function.

She leaves by the six o’clock train.

She = personal pronoun / subject

Leaves = irregular present tense verb

By = preposition

The = determiner / definite article

Six o’clock = pre-modifier

Train = concrete singular noun

The six o’clock train = noun phrase

By the six o’clock train = process adverbial

Declarative / simple sentence / active voice

Parse the following Sentence

If the book is not returned by the end of the month, your membership will be cancelled.

Text Analysis feedback

Identifying and distinguishing between lexical and grammatical features in the Winnie the Pooh Thimble Collection advert.

Question

Extract for analysis

• The passage is taken from a book which gives a personal account of a journey around the South coast of Britain. It was published in 2002.

Draw two columns: a) lexis and b) grammar

Identify and list at least 6 different features in each column.

You must be able to explain the effect of each feature in relation to the context.

Lexical

1. Contrasting semantic fields – moves from positive to negative. Eg. Resort – spittle.

2. Figurative language – ‘slide’ suggests downward and therefore negative movement (interesting how a slide is a common feature of an amusement park)

3. The alliteration/sibilance of ‘speak, spraying spittle’ has an onomatopoeic quality almost mirroring the act of spitting.

4. Low frequency lexis used in first paragraph –curative, genteel. Then shifts to high frequency lexis (kids) to show less prestigious.

5. Pronouns – it (used at start to disguise negative connotations attached to the proper noun).

6. ‘ought to’ (modal) to suggest that the angry youths spoil the location – also it adds humour.

7. ‘But’ conjunction fronting emphasises the negativity of the unpleasant people who are there.

8. Dynamic verb in progressive form (lingering)

9. Shifts in verb tenses – moves between past and present

Grammatical

1. Noun phrases – initially show progress from negative to positive (England’ s first commercial bathing resort). Noun phrases become very negative: ‘hunched sedated souls’, ‘the joyless amusement parks’ (– interesting how joyless and amusement are oxymoronic.)

2. Relative clause – restrictive (emphasise popularity and healthiness) ‘who came to test for themselves the newly alleged curative…’

3. Simple sentence – ‘the slide had begun’ –emphasises the complete change, which happened quickly.

4. Slide (polysemy) – refers to both decline and a child’s ride.

5. Adverbials – Spatials are positive at the start but carry negative connotation later, such as the reference to things from abroad. Temporals fit the informative quality of the text, showing how much the place has changed.

6. Passive voice – to show how you will be robbed in Margate

7. Exophoric reference – ‘Brighton Rock’ brings very negative connotations. The novel was about a violent gangster.

Question

Produce a two part written response to this text a) lexis; b) grammar