MASTERING ADVANCED ENGLISH LANGUAGE SARA THORNE

PART I – Reference – the structure of English.

1 – The structure of English.

What is grammar? Is the study of the organization of language. Language is divided into different levels. Within each of these levels there are certain rules and patterns describing how the elements can be combined. Language is said to have a RANK SCALE because the levels can be arranged hierarchically.

Open class words: Closed class words:(LEXICAL WORDS) have a clearly definable meaning.(nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs)

(GRAMMATICAL WORDS) they enable us to build up language grammatically. (pronouns, determiners, prepositions, conjunctions)

OPEN CLASS WORDS:

NOUNS: (NAMING WORDS) They name people, places, things.

COMMON NOUNS: Classify things into types or general categories (car, dog…). PROPER NOUNS: Refer to specific people and places (usually written with initial capital letter). CONCRETE NOUNS: Refer to physical things that can be observed and measured. ABSTRACT NOUNS: Refer to ideas, times, qualities, emotions; they cannot be touched or seen. COUNT NOUNS: Can be counted and have plural form. NON-COUNT NOUNS: Refer to substances and qualities that cannot be counted.

*Some nouns are both count and non-count.

PLURALS: Regular nouns add –s to mark it. Many noun, however, are irregular.

COLLECTIVE NOUNS: Refer to groups of people, animals and things.

POSSESSIVES: In written language ‘s or ‘ is added to the noun to mark possession.

ADJECTIVES: (DESCRIBING WORDS) Provide extra information about nouns by giving details of physical qualities and of psychological qualities (emotions).

ATTRIBUTIVE ADJECTIVES: Before a noun. PREDICATIVE ADJECTIVES: After COPULA VERBS or LINKING VERBS.

*Adjectives can be graded so that nouns can be compared.

*Sometimes words from other word classes do the job of an adjective (i.e.: running boy, garden wall). A noun describing a noun is called MODIFIER.

VERBS: (DOING WORDS) Can express actions and states.

STATIVE VERBS: Express states of being or the processes in which there is no obvious action ( to know, to believe).

DYNAMIC VERBS: Express a wide range of actions which can be physical or perceptual. TRANSITIVE VERBS: Have to be followed by an object to complete their meaning. INTRANSITIVE VERBS: Do not need to be followed by an object to make sense. REGULAR VERBS: Have four forms:

1. INFINITE to walk2. THIRD PERSON SINGULAR PRESENT walks3. PAST TENSE AND PAST PARTICIPLE walked4. PRESENT PARTICIPLE walking

IRREGULAR VERBS: Have often five forms:1. INFINITIVE to write2. THIRD PERSON SINGULAR PRESENT writes3. PAST TENSE wrote4. PRESENT PARTICIPLE writing5. PAST PARTICIPLE have written

LEXICAL VERBS: Express the meaning in a verb phrase (the boy ran to school). AUXILIARY VERBS: Can be used to construct different timescales, questions and negatives. MODAL VERBS: Convey a range of attitudes and moods about the likelihood of an event taking

place (ability, intention, necessity/obligation, permission, prediction, possibility). PRESENT TENSE: Can be used to describe states of affairs and events that occur on a regular basis.

It is also used in spontaneous commentaries, proverbs and sayings. PAST TENSE: It refers to actions and states that took place in the past. Sometimes is used to record

indirect speech. Can be used to refer to something hypothetical. FUTURE TIME:

1. Simple present2. Modal verbs shall/will + base form verb3. be going + infinitive4. to be + present participle5. will/shall + to be + present participle

ASPECT: Establishes whether action or state of a verb is complete or in progress.1. PERFECT ASPECT: Have (auxiliary) + past participle.2. PRESENT PERFECT: has/have + past participle . Is used for any action continuing in the

present or having relevance in the present.3. PAST PERFECT: had + past participle. Describes a previous time in the past.4. PROGRESSIVE ASPECT: auxiliary be + present participle

auxiliary have + be + present participlee.g.: present progressive -> the boys are playing football past progressive -> the ladies were playing tennis present perfect progressive -> the lions have been roaring wildly all day past perfect progressive -> the weeds had been growing throughout the summer.

VOICE: The action of a verb and the person or thing responsible for it can be conveyed in two ways using voice:

1. ACTIVE VOICE: Expresses the action of the verb, directly linking it to the person or thing carrying out the action .

2. PASSIVE VOICE: Changes the focus of the sentence by reordering the elements.STRUCTURES OF THE PASSIVE VOICE:

1. the subject/actor of the active sentence is moved to the end of the passive sentence and becomes the optional passive agent ( by + subject of active sentence).

2. the object of the active sentence is moved to the front of the passive sentence and becomes the subject.

3. the active verb is replaced by a verb in the passive form: to be + past participle or: have + to be + past participle

USAGES OF THE PASSIVE:

1. Using by + actor , the subject can be delayed to the end of the sentence creating suspence.2. if the actor is a long phrase that seems awkward at the start of the sentence, it can be

placed at the end for fluency.3. by omitting the by + actor , it is possible to exclude the person or thing responsible for the

action of the verb. FINITE VERBS: Change their form to show contrast of number, tense and person. NON-FINITE VERBS: Never change their form.

ADVERBS: Are modifying words. They give information about time, place, and manner and can express a speaker’s attitude to or evaluation of what is being said. They can modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, sentences.

CIRCUMSTANCE ADVERBS: (ADJUNCTS) Modify verbs, by giving details of circumstances like manner, time, frequency and place.

DEGREE ADVERBS (MODIFIERS): Modify adjectives or adverbs. SENTENCE ADVERBS: modify a whole sentence.

1. DISJUNCT: Express speakers’ or writers’ attitudes allowing them to comment on what is being said or written.

2. CONJUNCT: Can be used to link sentences.

FORMING ADVERBS: Many adverbs are formed by adding –ly to adjectives.

COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE: Although some can take –er and –est endings ,most require the use of more and most.

IRREGULAR ADVERBS: Have different forms.

THREE MAIN POSITIONS FOR ADVERBS:

1. In front of the sentence.2. The middle of the sentence: after the first auxiliary, after the verb to be as a lexical

verb, or before the lexical verb.3. The end of the sentence.

Sometimes the same word can be both an adjective and an adverb. In order to distinguish between them, it is important to look at the context of the word and its function in a sentence.

CLOSED CLASS WORDS:

PRONOUNS: Are used instead of nouns, noun phrases or noun clauses. There are seven types of pronouns:

1. PERSONAL PRONOUNS: SUBJECT PRONOUNS: Are used when it is clear who the actor of the sentence is (I, you,

he/she/it, we, you, they).

OBJECT PRONOUNS: It replaces the noun that receives the action of the verb (me, you, him/her/it, us, you, them).

2. POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS: Are used when you need to show possession of something (mine, yours, his/hers, ours, yours, theirs).

3. REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS: Are used when the same person is the actor and the receiver of the action in a sentence (myself, yourself, himself/herself/itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves).

4. DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS: Are used to point to the relationship between the speaker and a person or a thing (this/these, that/those).

5. INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS: Are used to ask questions. There are five types: what, which, who, whom, whose.

6. RELATIVE PRONOUNS: Follow directly the nouns they describe. They introduce relative clauses, although sometimes the pronoun itself is omitted. There are five forms: that, which, who, whom, whose.

7. INDEFINITE PRONOUNS: Have a less certain reference point than the other pronouns listed here. There are two types:

OF PRONOUNCES: All of, both of, each of…always followed by an object pronoun. COMPOUND PRONOUNS: Every/some/any/no + thing/one/body.

DETERMINERS: Precede nouns. There are five main types:

1. ARTICLES: DEFINITE or INDEFINITE. The former specifies something particular, while the latter does not.

2. POSSESSIVE DETERMINERS: Are used to suggest the ownership of a noun. There are seven forms: my, your, his, her, its, our, their.

3. DEMONSTRATIVE DETERMINERS: Express a contrast, establishing either a close or a more distant relationship.

4. INDEFINITE DETERMINERS: Convey a range of meaning. The most common ones are: all, some, any, no; every, each, either, neither, one, another etc…

5. NUMBERS: If precede a noun they are functioning as determiners. Both cardinals and ordinals can be used as determiners.

It is important to look closely at the context to distinguish between pronouns and determiners. A determiner precedes a noun; a pronoun replaces a noun, noun-phrase or noun clause.

PREPOSITIONS: Describe relationships that exist between elements in sentences. They convey the following relationships:

PLACE: at, on, by, opposite DIRECTION: towards, past, out of, through TIME: at, before, in, on COMPARISON: as…as, like SOURCE: from, out PURPOSE: for

CONJUNCTIONS: Are joining words

CO-ORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS: (and, but, or, neither…nor, either…or)Link lexical units of equal value.

SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS: Join a subordinate clause to a main clause. They often give information on when, where, why, how or if an action takes place.

MORPHOLOGY

MORPHOLOGY: Is the study of morphemes, the smallest units of grammar.

FREE MORPHEME: Can stand alone and is understandable in isolation. BOUND MORPHEME (AFFIXES): Cannot occur alone and can occur at the beginning or the end of a

free morpheme.1. PREFIXES: Precedes a free morpheme.2. SUFFIXES: Follows a free morpheme.

Words can have multiple affixes.

DERIVATIONAL MORPHOLOGY: Words can be created by using prefixes, suffixes or both.

PREFIXES: Alter the meaning of a word ,but they do not always change the word class. SUFFIXES: Usually change the class of the free morpheme to which they are attached.

SUFFIXES ASSOCIATED WITH NOUNS: -acy, -ation, -er/or, -ess, -ity, -ment, -ness, -ship.

SUFFIXES ASSOCIATED WITH ADJECTIVES: -able, -ful, -ical, -less, -like, -ous, -y.

SUFFIXES ASSOCIATED WITH VERBS: -ise, -ize.

SUFFIXES ASSOCIATED WITH ADVERBES: - ly.

WORDS FORMED WITH TWO FREE MORPHEMES: duty + free = dutyfree

sign + post = signpost

INFLECTIONAL MORPHOLOGY: Even if a suffix is added, the word class doesn’t change.

PLURALS of nouns POSSESSIVES of all nouns PRESENT TENSE of the regular third person singular (-s, -ies) PRESENT PARTICIPLE of verbs (-ing) PAST TENSE AND PAST PARTICIPLE of regular verbs (-ed)

PHRASES

PHRASE: Is a single word or a group of words that act together as a unit but that do not usually contain a finite verb.

NOUN PHRASES: Usually begins with a determiner and normally has a noun as its most important word.

NOUNS AND PRONOUNS AS HEADWORD: Both can be headwords. ADJECTIVES AS HEADWORDS CONSTITUENTS OF A NOUN PHRASE: A noun phrase can be made up of either a single noun or a

noun with one or more pre-modifiers and post-modifiers or qualifiers.

ADJECTIVE PHRASES: Has an adjective as its main word.

ADJECTIVES AS HEADWORD: While attributive adjectives precede a noun as pre-modifiers in a noun phrase, predicative adjectives follow nouns and are the head words of adjective phrases.

PRE-MODIFICATION: Can be made by adverbs and some adjectives. POST-MODIFICATION: Of adjective phrases can take the following forms:

1. PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES: Will always begin with a preposition.2. NON-FINITE INFINITIVE CLAUSES: Will always begin with an infinitive.3. NOUN CLAUSES: Will always start with the pronoun that, although this may be omitted.

VERB PHRASES: Generally has a lexical verb as its main verb. It can be made up of one lexical verb, or one or more auxiliary verbs and a lexical verb.

LEXICAL VERBS AS HEADWORD: A verb phrase may consist of one lexical verb as a headword. AUXILIARY VERBS: A verb phrase may have up to four auxiliary verbs, the lexical verb will always

be the last element in a verb phrase. PHRASAL VERBS: Phrases made up of a verb and an adverb. Many phrasal verbs can stand alone. PREPOSITIONAL VERBS: Made up of a verb and a preposition or particle. They cannot stand alone:

they must be followed by a noun phrase. Are common in informal speech and writing. PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES: Has a preposition as its main word. It will normally be followed by a

noun phrase. Prepositional phrases add extra information and are therefore optional: the can be omitted without affecting the meaning. They can have the following characteristics:

1. POST-MODIFICATION of other phrases.2. ADVERBIALS: Prepositional phrases can function as adverbials providing informations

about time, manner and place.

ADVERB PHRASES: Has an adverb as its main word.

ADVERBS AS HEADWORD EXTRA INFORMATION: If omitted, will still make sense. ADVERBIALS: Provide information about time, manner and place.

CLAUSES

CLAUSES: Are the main structures used to compose sentences. A sentence will be made up of at least one main clause (a clause that make sense of its own and that is not dependent on or part of another clause); it may also contain one or more subordinate clauses. Clauses may be:

FINITE: Contains a verb marked for tense, number and person. NON-FINITE: Contains a present participle, a past participle or an infinitive. VERBLESS

CLAUSE ELEMENTS: Five types with different function and site.

1. SUBJECT: Describes the person who or thing which does the action of the verb (actor of the sentence). It is usually a noun phrase or a pronoun, but it can also be a clause.

POSITION IN THE CLAUSE: Precede the verb in a statement. POSITION IN A QUESTION: Follows the auxiliary verb. EFFECT ON THE VERB: Dictates the form. EFFECT ON THE OBJECT OR COMPLEMENT: Sometimes control their form.

2. VERB: Express a range of meanings (actions, processes, states…). It’s the most important clause element and it cannot be omitted.

3. OBJECT: Describes something that is directly affected by the verb. INDIRECT OBJECT: Something indirectly affected by the verb. It can precede or follow the

direct object. KINDS OF OBJECT: It is a noun phrase or a pronoun. POSITION IN THE CLAUSE: It follows the verb.

4. COMPLEMENT: Gives extra information about the subject or the object. KINDS OF COMPLEMENT: Adjective phrase, noun phrase, pronoun, a numeral or a clause. POSITION IN THE CLAUSE: Follows a verb.

5. ADVERBIALS: Give information about time, manner and place. KINDS OF ADVERBIALS: Adverb phrases, prepositional phrases, noun phrases or clauses. NUMBER OF ADVERBIALS: More than one can be added to a clause. POSITION IN THE CLAUSE: Can change to create different kinds of emphasis.

CLAUSE STRUCTURE: Most clauses will have a subject and a verb, other clause elements are optional. It is useful to distinguish between the form of a verb and the function of a verb phrase in a clause. In clause analysis, linguists call the verb site the predicator.

CLAUSE TYPES: Seven types:

1. subject + verb2. subject + verb + direct object3. subject + verb + indirect object + direct object4. subject + verb + subject complement5. subject + verb + direct object + object complement6. subject + verb + adverbial7. subject + verb + direct object + adverbial

SENTENCES

SENTENCE: Is a grammatical construction that makes sense on its own. In writing, it begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop or an exclamation or question mark.

SIMPLE SENTENCE: Contains just one clause. It has only one finite verb and is described as a main clause.

COMPOUND SENTENCE: Contains two or more simple sentences linked by coordinating conjunctions. Each clause in compound sentence carries equal weight and makes sense on its own – they can therefore both be described as main clauses. When two sentences are linked, it is usually better to avoid repetition. This can be achieved by using substitution or ellipsis.

SUBSTITUTION: A pronoun replaces a noun or a noun phrase. ELLIPSIS: Is the omission of an element of language. As long as the reader can easily recognize what

has been deleted, part of the sentence can be omitted to avoid repetition.

RECOGNISING SUBORDINATE CLAUSES: By identifying the word class of the first word in the clause. It may be a subordinating conjunction a wh-word or a non-finite verb. It is important to remember that subordinate clauses can be used in all the clause sites except the verb.

COMPLEX SENTENCE: Clauses do not have equal value. One is the main clause, while the others are subordinate or dependant clauses. There are six types of subordinate clause.

1. NOUN CLAUSE: Can fill the subject or object site of a clause. There are two main kinds: THAT CLAUSES: Will begin with the pronoun that, although this may be elided. WH-CLAUSES: Will begin with a wh-word.

2. ADVERBIAL CLAUSE: Functions as an adverbial within the main clause. It answers questions such as when?, why?, what for? An adverbial clause can be recognized by the subordinating conjunction that marks its beginning (if, because, unless, where, etc…).

3. RELATIVE CLAUSE: Add extra information about one of the nouns in the main clause. The beginning of a relative clause is usually marked by a relative pronoun (who, whose, which, that)although it can be omitted. They follow the nouns they post-modify or qualify.

4. COMPARATIVE CLAUSE: Starts with as (EQUAL COMPARISON) or contains than (UNEQUAL COMPARISON).

5. NON-FINITE CLAUSE: Can be recognized by an infinitive, present participle or a past participle at the beginning of the clause.

6. VERBLESS CLAUSE: While verbless main clauses (what about a cup of tea?) are more likely to be used in informal speech, a verbless subordinate clause is more likely to be used in formal written English (If in doubt, call.).

COMPOUND-COMPLEX SENTENCES: Co-ordination and subordination can be used in the same sentence.

MAJOR SENTENCES: All the sentences considered so far are regular or major sentences because they are constructed using regular patterns.

MINOR SENTENCES: (Also IRREGULAR SENTENCES) Lack some of the essential clause elements. Minor sentences are often used in everyday conversations, on posters, headlines, advertisements and slogans. Minor sentences can be:

FORMULAE used in social situations. INTERJECTIONS used to express emotions. ABBREVIATED FORMS often used on postcards or in spoken commentaries (wish you were

here). Words or phrases used as EXCLAMATION, QUESTION or COMMANDS (what a day!).

ANALYSING A SENTENCE:

1. Underline the verbs in the sentence; if there are none, it is a minor sentence.2. Identify the main lexical verb(s) and mark the main clause(s).3. Label the clause elements.4. Identify any subordinate clauses.5. Identify the type of subordinate clause.

MOOD

MOOD: Shows the attitude of the speaker to the action or event referred to in the verb phrase: we can tell, ask or command something to someone.

DECLARATIVE MOOD: Is used for making statements. INTERROGATIVE MOOD: Is used for addressing questions. In speech, if the word order is

unchanged and intonation patterns are used to indicate a question, the mood is declarative! The only examples of interrogative mood in which word order is not inverted, are in sentences in which wh-words fill the subject site.

IMPERATIVE MOOD: Is used for addressing commands or orders (there is no subject and the verb is in the base form). Sometimes the person addressed is named using a VOCATIVE. A vocative has two functions:

1. To call someone in order to gain his/her attention.2. To address someone, expressing a particular social relationship or personal attitude.

Vocatives are optional and can occur at the beginning, middle or end of the sentence.

COHESION

COHESION: Is the way in which sentences are linked to create text. There are five forms:

1. LEXICAL COHESION: Is a kind of textual linking dependent on a writer’s or speaker’s choice of words.

COLLOCATION: Words are associated within phrases. Because they are often well known, they are predictable (idioms, clichés).

REPETITION: Either words or phrases are directly repeated or SYNONYMS are used. SUPERORDINATES AND HYPONYMS: Superordinates are general words, while hyponyms

are subdivisions of the general categories (specific words).2. SUBSTITUTION: One linguistic item is replaced by a shorter one. Several parts of sentence can be

replaced. NOUN PHRASES: Can be replaced by personal pronouns, indefinite pronouns or by the

noun phrase the same . Also superordinates and hyponyms can be substitutes. VERB PHRASE: Can be replaced by the auxiliary verb do. CLAUSES: Can be replaced using so as a substitute for a positive clause, and not as a

substitute for a negative clause.3. ELLIPSIS: Part of the sentence is left out. It must be clear what the omitted words are, so that the

sentence remains meaningful. NOUN PHRASES: Can be omitted the head of the phrase. VERB PHRASES: Repeated lexical and auxiliary verbs can be omitted. CLAUSES: Whole clauses can be omitted within sentence boundaries.

4. REFERENCING: References cannot be interpreted alone because they point to something else in a discourse.

ANAPHORIC REFERENCE: Point backwards in a text. CATAPHORIC REFERENCE: Point forwards in a text. EXOPHORIC REFERENCE: Point beyond a text, make a connection with something outside

the discourse.5. LINKING ADVERBS AND CONJUNCTIONS: Are joining words that provide links either within a

sentence or within the larger context of discourse. There are four main types: ADDITIVE ADVERBS AND CONJUNCTIONS: Add on information, possibly as an afterthought

(and, furthermore…). ADVERSATIVE ADVERBS AND CONJUNCTIONS: Help to create a contrast between the

sentence they introduce and the preceding sentence.

CASUAL ADVERBS AND CONJUNCTIONS: Link two clauses or sentences by suggesting that one has been the result of the other (because, since, therefore…).

TEMPORAL ADVERBS AND CONJUNCTIONS: Create a time link between one clause or sentence and another (before, while, then, after that…).

3 – STYLE

FOCUS: In a traditional simple declarative sentence, the subject will come first, followed by predicator and other clause elements. In linguistic terms, whatever comes first in the sentence is called the THEME which usually will be the subject. However, it is possible to change the focus through a range of devices.

MARKED THEME: Some elements of the clause can be moved to the front of a sentence (FRONTING or FOREGROUNDING) replacing the usual thematic subject. Adverbials are the most flexible clause element and therefore thematic adverbials are most common. The clause element that has replaced the subject in the initial position is called marked theme. It is also possible to make object and complement marked themes.

END FOCUS: It is possible to put new information towards the end of sentence, thus emphasizing the end rather than the beginning. Sometimes it is stylistically more fluent to place the longest clause element at the end of a sentence.

EXISTENTIAL THERE: It is also possible to create an end focus by using the existential there. Such sentences often point to the general existence of some state of affairs and they are therefore called EXISTENTIAL SENTENCES. There is called a DUMMY SUBJECT because it has no meaning in itself, instead, its function is to put the real subject in a more prominent position (DELAYED SUBJECT).

PASSIVE VOICE: Another way to alter the focus of a sentence is to use the passive voice instead of the active.

RHETORIC: Is the art of persuasive discourse. It is used in everyday life to persuade people to do or believe things and in literature to help the readers to engage with and believe in the fictional world which they are presented.

ETHOS: Is a form of persuasion which is dependent upon the individual character of the speaker or writer.

PATHOS: It works on the emotions of the audience. LOGOS: Is based on reasoned argument; the structure is important since it will help convince the

audience of the logic of what is being said or written.

It is useful to categorize the most common rhetoric techniques into four key areas:

1. LEXICAL CHOICE: This may be influenced by the viewpoint and tone adopted for a particular subject or situation; it may be dictated by the particular emotive response a writer or speaker wishes to evoke in the audience; or it may be governed by the subject-specific nature of a topic which requires technical lexis.

2. SOUND PATTERNING: Writers and speakers can use a range of devices for playing on the patterns and sounds of words to create certain stylistic effects:

ALLITERATION: Is the repetition of a consonant, often in the initial position. In advertisements, captions and headlines this device can be used to make the text more eye-catching.

ASSONANCE: Is the repetition of a vowel in a medial position. This poetic device makes words sound sonorous and musical and is often used to create a grave or pensive tone

CONSONANCE: Repetition of a consonant in the medial or final position. It draws attention to a product name in advertising or enhance the meaning of literary language by creating a hard sound.

ONOMATOPOEIA: Is the term used when the sound of a word is directly linked to its meaning. The emphasis on the sound quality of words focuses the reader’s or listener’s

attention on the aural aspect of the discourse, thus creating another dimension to the meaning.

RHYME: Rhyme or half-rhyme are exact or partial repetitions of a sound, usually at the end of a poetic line. It draws attention to certain words. It creates a kind of end focus and can be used in a conclusive way to signal the end of a poem or a speech in verse drama emphatically.

3. METAPHORICAL LANGUAGE: Is an important part of successful persuasive discourse because it allows a speaker or writer to combine everyday language with devices that create special semantic effects.

IRONY: Is the use of a word, phrase or paragraph turned from its usual meaning to a contradictory or opposing one, usually to satirize or deflate the person or issue.

METAPHOR: Describes one thing in terms of another, creating an implicit comparison. METONYMY: Is the term used when the name of an attribute or thing is substituted for the

thing itself (e.g.: the Crown -> the monarchy) OXYMORON: Uses two apparently contradictory words put together to create a special

effect. PARADOX: Consists of an apparently self-contradictory statement which contains some

kind of deeper meaning below the surface. PERSONIFICATION: Is the term used when an object or idea is given human qualities. SIMILE: In a simile two things are explicitly compared by using a marker such as the

preposition like or as. SYMBOLISM: Is the use of an object to represent or stand for something else (e.g.: dove ->

peace) SYNECDOCHE: Is a rhetorical device in which the part stands for the whole (e.g.: bars ->

prison)4. STRUCTURAL DEVICES: In order to be successful in persuading an audience a writer or speaker also

make s conscious decisions about the structural patterns of discourse: ANTITHESIS: Is the technique of placing two words or ideas in opposition to create a

contrary effect. LISTING: If conjunctions are used to co-ordinate groups of words, a list is said to be

SYNDETIC; if commas are used instead, the list is described as ASYNDETIC. Listing always has an accumulative effect and enables a writer or speaker to create a range of impressions. A list can convey confusion and chaos or logic and reason, depending on its context. Equally a writer or speaker can build towards a CLIMAX or defy expectations by concluding in an ANTI-CLIMAX.

OVERSTATEMENT: (HYPERBOLE) Is a form of persuasive exaggeration. UNDERSTATEMENT: (LITOTES) Leaves the audience to recognize that the writer or speaker

could have put the point more strongly. PUNS: Is a play upon words:

o HOMONYMS: Have the same sound and spelling but a different meaning.o HOMOPHONES: Have the same sound but a different spelling and meaning.

Newspaper headlines often play with words in a more general way to attract attention.

REPETITION: Of words, phrases, clauses or sentences draws attention to key ideas. The repetition is persuasive because it is emotive.

SYNTAX: Grammatical patterns are used to add variety to a discourse and to emphasize particular features. There is a range of syntactical elements that can be manipulated.

o GRAMMATICAL FUNCTION: Of words can changed. When a writer takes a modifier expressing a quality or attitude of one thing and uses it in relation to another, the modifier is called TRANSFERRED EPITHET.

o PARALLELISM: Phrase, clause and sentence structures are repeated to give a sense of balance and reason to a discourse.

o SENTENCE STRUCTURE: A varied choice of sentence types will draw the reader or listener into the discourse.

SIMPLE SENTENCES: Can suggest an innocence and naïvety of style. COMPLEX SENTENCES: Can withhold information until a certain point in

the discourse, or subordinate some ideas to others which seem more important. The complexity is directly related to the number of clauses.

BRANCHING: Is the arrangement and order of subordinate and main clauses in a discourse.

LEFT BRANCHING: Forces the reader or listener to wait for the main clause by using subordination at the beginning of a sentence. The result can often be dramatic because the audience has wait for all the information. This device is better suited to written than to speech because of the demands it makes on the memory.

RIGHT BRANCHING: Gives the important information first and then supplies a commentary on it or additional information. It can often seem more natural because it deals with information cumulatively and in what seems to be a more logical order: it provides the main clause first, before any embedded subordinate clauses.

5 – SOME BASIC CONCEPTS

STANDARD ENGLISH: Is a form of English which has been accepted as a norm. It is the variety with which other forms are compared. Even Standard English exist in a variety of forms: spoken, written, formal, informal, personal and impersonal. It is what we usually hear on the television and radio news. In its written form, is found in print and in formal written varieties like essays and business letters. It is also called BBC English or The Queen’s English. Any varieties which does not use the same vocabulary or grammar as Standard English is called NON-STANDARD ENGLISH.

RECEIVED PRONUNCIATION: Is the standard form of pronunciation. It is associated with respectability, good education and high social status. Today although RP still exist, only 2-3% of the British population speak it in its original pure form. Now it most commonly exists as MODIFIED RECEIVED PRONUNCIATION.

PRESCRIPTIVISM: Prescriptivists believe that English is governed by a set of rules which dictate a proper and correct use of language. They regard one particular form of English as the best and dislike linguistic change because they see it as a process of decay which erodes standards and leads to a debased form of English.

DESCRIPTIVISM: Descriptivists observe language as it is spoken or written in different situations. They aim to describe the ways in which language varies according to the user, the use and the context. They see language change as inevitable. Although they believe that some usage is wrong, they are more interested in describing variations from the standard as non-standard than as incorrect.

AUDIENCE, PURPOSE AND CONTEXT: All speakers and writers make decisions about the kinds of language they use. They think about who they will be addressing (AUDIENCE) and the kind of relationship they need to create. They assess the formality or informality of the occasion (CONTEXT) and the reason for the speech or writing (PURPOSE). By assessing what is expected of us according to our audience, purpose and context, we regularly make decisions about what is appropriate or suitable. The term APPROPRIATENESS encourages a recognition of the variety and flexibility of language, and recognizes that there are different linguistic expectations for different situations.

REGISTER: Is the term used to describe variations in language according to use (medical register, religious register…).

MODE: Can be either spoken or written. MANNER: Describes the relationship between the participants and the formality or informality of

the context in which communication takes place. FIELD: Is linked to the subject matter: by looking at the kind of words used, we can come to the

conclusion about the topic or focus of communication.

SPOKEN AND WRITTEN ENGLISH

SPOKEN WRITTENSpeech is spontaneous and often transient. Most forms of everyday speech are not recorded for repeated listening.

Writing is permanent: the same text may be read repeatedly or by several different readers.

Conversations usually take place face-to-face with a particular person(s). A telephone conversation is a notable exception.

Written language may be intended for a particular reader, but often it will be addressed to an unknown audience.

Speakers can use paralinguistic features as well as words to check that communication is meaningful.

There is no immediate feedback. Writers must make sure that there is no unintentional ambiguity.

Deictic expressions (this one, over there) referred All references need to be built into the written text

to the present situation, are common. because the reading context will be different for each reader.

Interruptions and overlaps allowing the addressee to participate are common.

Communication is one-way. Although the reader may respond in a written or spoken form, the response is rarely immediate.

Speech is not usually planned in advance. Writing is often pre-planned and ideas can therefore be carefully organized.

Speech often has a loose structure, marked by repetitions, rephrasing of ideas and comment clauses. Errors once uttered cannot be withdrawn.

Interruptions during the process of writing are not visible in a final copy. Drafting also means that errors can be corrected.

Lexis is often informal and there may be examples of a personal lexicon developed between familiar speakers. In more formal contexts, vocabulary may be subject-specific, but speech is still likely to be marked by contractions and comment clauses.

In many contexts informal lexical features like contractions will be unacceptable. Some lexical items will be rarely used in spoken language.

Intonation and pauses are used to mark the grammatical boundaries of utterances. They are often long, with multiple co-ordination. Subordination is used but speakers have to make sure that embedded subordinate clauses do not place too many demands upon listeners who cannot easily reconsider an utterance.

Punctuation and layout are used to mark the grammatical boundaries of sentences. In more formal kinds of writing, sentences are often marked by multiple subordination and balanced syntactical structures.

Prosodic features like volume, pace, rhythm, tone and stress patterns as well as words communicate meaning.

Writers use paragraphing and page layout to organize their text. Capitalization and underlining can be used for stress, while question marks and exclamation marks can be used to convey attitude.

Speech is a useful social tool which can develop relationships and convey attitudes and opinions directly, and so on.

Written text is useful for recording facts and ideas; making notes; and developing large-scale fiction, and so on. Because they are more permanent than speech, written texts can be longer without causing communication problems.

*Written texts can imitate spoken words, so that when spoken they sound spontaneous; likewise spoken texts can be transcribed.

While prescriptivists see speech as inferior because of its errors and hesitations, descriptivists use speech as the basis for much of their research. Not only does spoken language reflect how language is used in society, but language is first and foremost a spoken phenomenon with written language as a by-product.

6 – ENGLISH: A LIVING LANGUAGE

Language cannot exist on its own since it is a product of the people who speak and write it daily, and therefore it develops to meet their needs.

DIACHRONIC APPROACH: Evolution from language’s early form (Old English) to its current form (Late Modern).

SYNCHRONIC APPROACH: Change considered at a particular moment in time. Linguists analyse a clearly defined period in order to identify characteristic features of English at that time.

What changes language?

HISTORICAL FACTORS: Wars, invasions, industrial and technological changes all provide the context for the creation of new words.

CULTURAL TRANSMISSION: A distinctive form of language can give a cultural group a sense of identity, uniting “insiders” and alienating “outsiders”.

SOCIAL FACTORS: Education, social class, age, gender, ethnic background influence the words and grammar that individual speakers use.

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION: The pronunciation of words and the kinds of words and grammatical structures used will vary and change according to the region a speaker comes from (DIALECTS)

THE USE OF DIFFERENT REGISTERS: The words, grammatical structures and formats chosen will vary according to use. Different fields, like law, advertising and religion, will each have distinctive characteristic features.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH AS A WORLD LANGUAGE: English language is affected by change both within the UK and beyond.

GENDER: Cultural system by which society constructs different identities for men and women. Feminists believe that society instills certain codes of behavior in boys and girls from a young age: men are seen as logical, rational and objective, while women are emotional, intuitive and subjective. It is language that teaches individuals to act in a certain way, that reinforces society’s expectations, that makes people powerful.

SEXIST LANGUAGE: Reinforces stereotypical attitudes and expectations – it often implies male superiority. Such language can suggest that women are inferior. It is difficult to change these ingrained habits, but in an age of political correctness this kind of divisive language is often seen as unacceptable. So, anti-sexist alternatives are offered as substitutes for the traditional male-dominated language (chairman -> chairperson)

Differences in roles men and women take in informal conversation:

o On the level of discourse: Men are more likely to interrupt. Men will often reject topics introduced by women, while women will talk about

topics raised by men. Women are more likely to use supportive minimal vocalization. While women are more likely to initiate conversation, they succeed less often

because males are less willing to co-operate. Men are more likely to use familiar terms of address even where the relative status

and background of the speakers would seem to suggest that a formal, impersonal tone is more appropriate.

o Grammatical structures are also different: Women use tag questions more frequently. Modal verbs, modal adverbs and tentative verbs occur more often in women’s

utterances. Men are more likely to use commands, where women do use them they are often

framed as interrogatives or as hypothetical statements.o Lexical choices often seem to be related to a speaker’s gender:

Women are more likely to use evaluative adjectives Adverbs of degree are more common in women’s speech. Adjectives describing approximate amounts seem to be more common in women’s

utterances. Reduplicated forms are associated with women because they are linked to baby

talk. Men are thought to use slang and swearing more frequently. Women’s speech is characterized by the frequency of politeness markers.

o Phonological differences: Women are far more likely to use high-prestige forms and to adjust their accents to

match other participants in a formal speech encounter. Women are less likely to drop final consonants and to speak with a broad accent if

they feel that they need to make a good impression.*All these features outlined are, however, stereotypical.Gender and language are closely linked because it is through language that we communicate and construct models which help us to understand society. Sexist language can disparage and trivialize women and many people believe that the words we use should be carefully chosen to promote sexual equality.

CULTURAL CHANGES – BLACK ENGLISHBLACK AMERICAN ENGLISH (BAE): Is the language used by lower-class Blacks in urban communities, but as Blacks have become more integrated and as a Black middle class has developed, the language form used by the 20% of Black people has moved closer to Standard American English.BLACK ENGLISH VERNACULAR (BEV): Is not a regional dialect because it is difficult to link it directly to a specific geographical area. It is classified as a cultural or social variant from the standard form.

There are different theories about the way in which Black English developed. Some people believe that because the slaves learned English from their masters as a second language, they passed on to their children a form of American English that was grammatically different from American Standard English. Because of racial segregation, the dialect features of this variety persisted and are still to be found in Late Modern Black English.

PIDGIN LANGUAGE: Pidgins are marginal languages created by people who need to communicate but have no common language. They are marked by simplified grammar and a small vocabulary. Most pidgins are based on European languages reflecting Europe’s history of colonization.

When a pidgin becomes the main language of a community, it has to become more complex and be able to fulfill a wider range of functions. When later generations learn it as a first language, it is called a CREOLE.There are two kinds of creole Englishes:

Atlantic creole.

Pacific creole.

GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURES OF CREOLE LANGUAGES:

Absence of plural forms. Third person singular pronouns are not marked for gender. Nouns can be marked for gender by adding “man” (man) or “meri” (woman). Verbs are not marked for person or tense; all verbs are used in the base form. Different timescales

are indicated by the addition of auxiliary verbs, or by creole words. Multiple nagatives are common. Some varieties distinguish between two kinds of “we”.

Certain lexical patterns are distinctive:

Reduplication of words is used to extend a limited vocabulary. Reduplication used to distinguish between two words that sound similar. Reiterated words used to intensify meanings and create emphasis. Many nautical words were introduced in the first contact languages that evolved as a means of

communication between the native language speakers and traders.

INTERNATIONAL CHANGES – ENGLISH AS A WORLD LANGUAGE.

The world wide status of English is linked to the growth of the British Empire and the colonization of places like India and South Africa from the 17th century onwards. In the military and commercial contacts that followed, native languages were often suppressed by the British rules. In new environment, English acquires local nuances, particularly in its lexis.

AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH: Many of the early settlers of Australia were convicts from the lower social classes who were more likely to use distinctive regional dialects, and it is therefore sometimes thought that the distinctive Australian accents resulted from the mix of UK regional accents handed down to descendants of the first English speakers. Australian English is marked by the number of Aboriginal words that have been assimilated into the language. These words filled gaps where there were no English equivalents.

AMERICAN ENGLISH: Is a separate form (from BE) with its own spelling patterns and distinctive pronunciation. Some idioms, prepositions and the lexis assimilated from America’s immigrant population are now often heard and sometimes used by UK English speakers.

JEWISH ENGLISH: Has made mass audience familiar with a linguistic device called FRONTING (in this kind of structure, an inversion of the word order is used to create a mock emphasis of disbelief).

INDIAN ENGLISH: Since it is usually learnt from books which rarely keep up to date with the subtleties of linguistic change, Indian English is often considered to be very formal and dated.

JAPANESE ENGLISH: Is known for its amusing misinterpretations. Such variations from the source language, however, do not really cause problems of understanding.

Not all countries welcome the spread of English.

FRANCE: The Académie Française (the official body which protects and regulates the French language) banned the use of blended words on the radio; instead, French equivalents must be used: failure to do so will result in a fine.