Etymology of the word 'naughty'

The word 'naughty':

In the late 14th century, the word 'naughty' meant needy or having naught/nothing. This then had a semantic to shift to mean evil, immoral or unclean. These meanings are now obsolete.

From 1869, it meant "sexually promiscuous" which is also obsolete. The more modern meaning of 'naughty' is about disobedience which derived from the meaning between 1530-1750 of "a woman of bad character". It is usually used to describe children. The word 'naughty' can also mean improper, tasteless or indecent in modern day. e.g. A naughty word

1600's Comparison

Romeo and Juliet 1600's

Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,

Which mannerly devotion shows in this,

For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch,

And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss.

Modern Day Translation

Good pilgrim, you don’t give your hand enough credit. By holding my hand you show polite devotion. After all, pilgrims touch the hands of statues of saints. Holding one palm against another is like a kiss.

The use of the word, "pilgrim" is almost obsolete, it means someone who travels to a sacred place as an act of religious devotion. This may be because of the context, religion used to be a big part of many people's lives but it is not so much in modern times. 

Young readers should be corrected whenever they make a mistake

Reading is essential for a child's success as it helps them to acquire early language skills. It is recognised as important to language development. Not only does it give basic speech skills but it helps children to communicate more effectively. The term 'corrected' in the question means to tell children the standard use of the lexis they are using and a 'mistake' is an example of a non-standard miscue. 

Ways of correcting children's miscues can be through positive or negative reinforcement. This is from Skinner's Operant Conditioning theory which says that positive reinforcement is when a certain behaviour, in this case language, is praised or rewarded so the child will want to repeat it. In the text, George struggles with the word "sandbags" and his mother takes a phonic approach by telling him to, "sound it out". When he pronounces it right, she gives him positive reinforcement by saying, "well done". George later struggles with this word again and says, "sanbags". This is likely because it is not a local topic and so is an example of low frequency lexis. It is also a compound word with a consonant cluster meaning the 'd' is unstressed. This may be the reason why George struggles enunciating the word. George's mother models breaking down the compound word in to "sand" and "bag". This is an example of scaffolding which relates to Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) meaning that George can say the compound word with support and strategy from the caregiver. After his struggle with the word "sandbags", George is praised by his mother with a "well done". 

Skinner's theory states that negative reinforcement is performing a behaviour to avoid a negative response. An example of negative reinforcement in the transcript is when George says, "we never" and his mother replies, "nooo". This highlights the virtuous error and his mother elongates the word 'no' to mitigate it as it can sound quite harsh. This may be because too many corrections, particularly if they are similar to punishment (another feature of Skinner's theory), may discourage them from reading and reading is a vital element in order for children to learn. George continues to self correct himself when he says, "no we need". This is an example of the 'top-down' cognitive approach as George guesses the word "never" instead of "need" because they have visual similarity. They have the same initial grapheme and are similar word lengths which is why the error is virtuous.

According to Piaget's theory, children develop language abilities in different stages. These are the sensori-motor, pre-operational, concrete operational and formal operational stages. George is 7 years old so according to Piaget's theory is between the pre-operational and concrete operational stages. The pre-operational stage looks at children not knowing the difference between the child interacting with others and thinking out loud. In the concrete operational stage, the child is capable of using logic and of solving problems in the form of stories. In the text, George uses several strategies to work out what words are. He uses the phonic approach and the breaking down of compound words. When George says "to their house", his mother replies "watch the endings". This gives a sense that George often miscues on this which means that he has not quite reached the concrete operational stage as he is not solving problems without assistance yet. Later on in the text he makes the same mistake by saying "made" instead of "may". This time, his mother immediately corrects him. This may be to preserve the flow of him reading as he continues to read the rest of the extract without help.

The context may have an effect on the language used by children. For example, George says "upstairs" instead of "upset" because the image in the book shows Mum on the stairs. This is a word guessing error and his mother prompts him to try again by saying "look at the word". George then use the phonic approach to sound out the word "upset" and he gets it right. He is then praised through positive reinforcement by his mother saying "that's right". This can relate to Bruner's interactionist theory in the children learn language best through interaction with others. George miscuing the "upstairs" with "upset" can relate to the iconic stage of Bruner's theory where information is stored through images. Without George's mother giving him strategies to correct himself, he may miscue far more frequently. These strategies will help with George's cognitive growth as Bruner's theory states that the outcome of cognitive development is thinking.

It is important to correct children when they make a mistake whilst reading as this helps them to learn. However, this can become an issue if children are being corrected too frequently or corrected through punishment. This is because it may discourage them from reading which may affect them later in life. George's mother does not always necessarily correct him but helps him to work out the word through different strategies. Skinner's positive and negative reinforcement helps with child language acquisition as it teaches them if they are miscuing. This will help them to self-correct in the future and become independent readers.

Analysing Children's Writing

In one of the Year 6 pieces of work, they spell the word 'baggy' as "baggie". This can be overgeneralisation of spelling rules because the "ie" can make a "y" sound such as in the word "hippie". This can relate to Stage 6 of Barclay's theory as they are spelling language how it sounds.

CLA Writing Theory

B.M. Kroll (1981)
4 stages in the development of writing.  
 
Stage 1: Preparatory Stage

• Masters the basic motor skills needed to write
• Learns the basic principles of spelling

 
Stage 2: Consolidation Stage (age up to 6)

• Child writes in the same way they speak
• Uses short declarative sentences which include mainly ‘and’ conjunctions 
• Incomplete sentences as they don’t know how to finish the sentence off

 
Stage 3: Differentiation Stage (age up to 9)

• Child becomes aware of the difference between speaking and writing
• Recognises the different writing styles available e.g. letter, essay
• Lots of mistakes
• Use writing guides and frameworks to structure work
• Write to reflect thoughts and feelings 

 
Stage 4: Integration Stage (12+)

• Child develops a personal style
• Child understands that you can change your style according to audience and purpose

Dr Cathy Barclay (1996)
7 stages to a child's developing its writing skills.  
 
Stage 1: Scribbling Stage

• Random marks on a page
• Writing and scribbles are accompanied by speaking

 
Stage 2: Mock Handwriting Stage

• Writing + drawings
• Produce wavy lines which is their understanding of lineation
• Cursive writing

 
Stage 3: Mock Letters

• Letters are separate things.

 
Stage 4: Conventional Letters

• Usually involves writing the name as the first word
• Child usually puts letters on a page but is able to read it as words

 
Stage 5: Invented Spelling Stage

• Child spells in the way they understand the word should be spelt 

 
Stage 6: Appropriate / Phonetic Spelling Stage

• Attach spelling with sounds

 
Stage 7: Correct Spelling Stage

• Are able to spell most words

 

Imitation and reinforcement are the most crucial tools for child language acquisition

Imitation and reinforcement is the process of children learning language through listening to adults use it and copying it. The two types of reinforcement are positive and negative. Positive reinforcement is when a child will want to repeat the behaviour because of a reward or positive feedback from the adult. Negative reinforcement is not a punishment but it is about repeating the behaviour to avoid a response. This idea comes from Skinner's Operant Conditioning theory which is a key theory in child language acquisition (CLA). This can be important for children in learning language but it may not be the most import factor. 

There are examples of Skinner's positive reinforcement in the text. This is where Tom says, "it make noises" and his mother replies, "it makes noises". This is her echoing and correcting him. Positive reinforcement can occur just through adults responses which is happening here. This form of scaffolding she is giving him can relate to Vygotsky's theory. This in particular is about Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) which is the distance between what a child can do independently and what their potential is. The ZPD is what language the child can use with support from the caregiver. However, Piaget has criticised this theory of learning through others support as he believes they have to reach certain stages and this is universal. According to Piaget, thought comes before language. This contradicts the idea that imitation and reinforcement is the most crucial tool for CLA.

Another example of reinforcement in the text is when Tom says the declarative utterance, "the dad bike" and his mother echoes "dad's bike". This is reformulating what Tom said incorrectly. Tom's utterance could be over-generalisation because his mother goes on to say, "you're not on dad's bike (.) you're on your bike". Although Tom's mother is correcting him, this is in a positive way as she does not use the interjection "no". This means that Tom is not being punished so he will not fear being scalded for the incorrect use in the future. Tom has learnt from his mother recasting the possessive utterance as he uses the correct phrase later on in the transcript. He tries to remember the possessive inflection by saying "the dad (.) dad's bike (.) dad's bike mum (.) dad's bike". This can relate to Vygotsky's theory as he is seeking knowledge through the support of the caregiver. 

There is an example in the text of negative reinforcement, however, this is for behaviour rather than language. The mother says, "don't touch (.) don't touch" about Tom noticing the tape recorder. Tom replies "no (.) can I put it on" and the mother answers "in a minute". This shows that although positive and negative reinforcement can be used for language, it is most likely to be used in relation to behaviour. Skinner's Operant Conditioning theory is in relation to behaviourism and it does not take in to account factors such as genetics. It assumes that without reinforcement, it will not be learned. This could mean that imitation and reinforcement can not be the main factor in CLA as not all language use by children needs to be reinforced. Chomsky's theory critcises Skinner's Operant Conditioning. The Language Acquisition Device (LAD) by Chomsky is the idea that children learn language by listening to utterances around them and repeating them. This does not require any type of reinforcement but does involve imitation. However, this can lead to over-generalisation which may be why reinforcement is necessary. 

Overall, imitation and reinforcement may not be the most crucial tool for CLA but does have a big impact on how children learn language. In the transcript, there are clear examples of imitation and either positive or negative reinforcement used and you can see that Tom has learnt some language this way. Yet, not all of the reinforcement is about language. Skinner and Vygotsky are clear advocates of this way of learning but Piaget and Chomsky offer an alternative view which shows that there is more than one way for children to learn language. Although the transcript does not offer much support for these ideas, it does not mean that imitation and reinforcement are the most significant ways for children to learn language.

Language Investigation Methodology (Edited)

Aim: To investigate if context has an effect on male and female language.

Hypothesis: Males and females language use will not conform to typical stereotypes in that they use language differently yet this will differ depending on the context.

Data: Looking at extracts from The Hunger Games to test Tannen's difference theory. I will sample multiple quotes from the books and look at the context and the use of language to see if it relates to language and gender theory. 



Analysis: Looking at language and gender features in the extracts I find. In particular, difference features but can find deficit and dominance features too.


Reliability: The books are fiction so they are not from a real life situation but it will be interesting to see the authors representation of male and female language in different situations. I could use samples from all three books to get a range of data.

Comparability: The main characters in the books are of similar ages so the males and females will only have one significant difference which is their gender. There may be contextual factors such as emotions or location which could affect the language used by the characters.

Ethicality: The books are published so there are no ethical considerations. I will cite the source and transcribed data accurately.

Analysis of Zach Transcript

Zach drawing a banana 2;4 compared with Zach and the healing robot 3;5

In the Zach and the healing robot transcript, we should expect to see his language more developed such as being in the telegraphic stage yet his language is quite disjointed. This can be seen in the phrase, "now we (.) then it healed and now (.) it will take a little time (.) for the robot to heal again (2)". This could be due to context because he is distracted by thinking about the robot. There are some parts that link to the telegraphic stage such as "an I'm sitting here (.) to (.) for waiting (.) to get (0.5) better (.) for it (0.5)" because this is ellipsis. In the beginning of the transcript he says, "can you do it Mummy?" This can relate to Dore's requesting function because he is asking for something to be done for him. The action of him turning towards Mummy is showing this through gestures as well as words. This is an example of him using an interrogative which is usually done by the mother. 

In the Zach drawing a banana transcript, there are 26 interrogatives used asked to Zach by his mother. This shows that his mum is offering guidance to him which could relate to Vygotsky's zone of proximal development because the child can do it with support from the caregiver also know as scaffolding. The number of interrogatives used towards Zach in the healing robot transcript is 16. This is significantly less which could mean that Zach is developing his language so does not require as much scaffolding. In the banana transcript Zach says the utterance, "course you can Mummy". This can be quite humourous as it unusual for a young child to say. It is also a non-standard use of adult language in response to the question, "shall i help?" The can relate to Chomsky's LAD theory as it is about listening to sentences around us and using them. This can lead to over-generalisation which can be seen here since this is not the context you would usually see that utterance.

In the Zach drawing a banana transcript he could be in the iconic stage of Bruner's theory which occurs between 1 to 6 years old. This is where information is stored in the form of images which relates to Zach drawing a banana in the transcript. Zach is learning more about language in the most recent transcript as he over-extends the term "glue sticks" but realises this and self-corrects himself to say "glue (.) spreaders". This shows that his language is developing as in the older transcript he over-extends the term "lasagne" to mean "bolognaise". This can also relate back to the iconic stage as lasagne and bolognaise look similar.

Context is important to consider when looking at language. This is because when Zach says, "this is my little pad (.) and I said (.) and said (.) the (.) train driver" it is not cohesive. This is because he is busy at the time but it could seem like Zach is struggling with the utterance. In the other transcript, Zach uses discourse markers in the utterance, "it's gonna be a long time though (.) but we're not gonna have breakfast still". The "though" and "still" are discourse markers used in response to his mum. This is likely to be because he is sensing that she wants to have breakfast. The utterance, "I cutting round the edge" is used in the oldest transcript. The auxillary verb, "cutting" is elided to create and elliptical construction. This is him over-generalising the grammar when there should be the word "am" between "I" and "cutting".

Skinner's Operant Conditioning Theory says we learn language in three ways through positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement and punishment. In the banana transcript, Zach's mum makes it clear that he has done something wrong. This is when he says, "I got food on the floor" and she changes it to "you threw food on floor". The verb "threw" is emphasising that is a bad thing to which could be a form of negative reinforcement meaning that he is less likely to do it again to avoid this. Similarly, there are examples of positive reinforcement in the same transcript. When Zach recognises the 'Busy Railway' book, his mum says, "you are a star". This is praising him for learning language which means the behaviour is more likely to be repeated according to Skinner.

"Snotrils and Jumpolines: Kids' Invented Words" Summary

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07wsmrp#play

This podcast is about how children invent and reimagine words. This is usually something that is similar to the word or the thing that they are describing.

Halliday and Dore

From: http://firstyears.org/c1/u5/dore.htm Primitive Speech Act is by Dore Communicative Function is by Halliday Examples of Behaviours Primitive Speech Act PSAs Defined Communicative Function Communicative Functions Defined Shouts "Dada" from crib Calling Gaining another's attention Interactional Establishing interaction with others Says "Dada" as he enters the room Greeting Addressing persons when they appear (Interactional)   Asserts "No!" to unwanted food Protesting Expressing dislike or rejection of times or actions Personal Expressing personal feelings or attitudes Points to dog and asks, "Doggy?" Requesting answer Asking for information with words, gestures, intonation Heuristic Inquiring about or exploring environment Raises arms and says, "Up, up, up!" Requesting action Asking for other's actions Regulatory Attempting to control other's actions Points to and says, "Cookie, peez." (Requesting action)   Instrumental Attempting to obtain objects through others Points, says "Here!" when asked, "Where's your nose?" Answering Responding to other's questions Informative Demonstrating knowledge of world with others Touches nose and says, "Nose." Labeling Naming an object or event (Informative)   Says "Go!" while pushing toy car     Imaginative Using words to invent a play word Echoes mother's exclamation of "Oh, no!" Repeating Reproducing an utterance in part or entirely     Says "No, no, no!" while alone in crib Practicing Produces words or prosodic pattern with no apparent audience

Stages of Child Language Aquisition

Stage 1: Cooing Stage (0-4 months)

• Beginning to make spontaneous cooing sounds
• Resembling vowel sounds
• They are vowel-like sounds rather than consonant because it is harder to coordinate your lips and breath

Stage 2: Babbling Stage (4-10 months)

• Repeated consonant and vowel sounds
• It becomes more complex around 8-10 months
• Echolalic babbling - reflects intonation and rhythm

Stage 3: Holophrastic Stage (1 year)

• Word-like units
• Idiomorphs - invented words
• Producing more conventional words that resemble adult pronunciation and meaning

Stage 4: Two-word Stage (2 years)

• Using two words

Stage 5: Telegraphic Stage

• Only include content words
• No conjunctions, article, prepositions or word endings

Stage 6: Beginning Oral Fluency

• Moderately fluent

Gender Essay

Group Essay

The idea that men and women use language differently is one that is related to gender inequality. The question is do men and women actually speak the same language? The three different approaches are the 3D’s. The dominance approach, as said by Jennifer Coates (1993), sees women as an oppressed group since we live in a patriarchal society.  Deborah Tannen (1989) argues the difference approach, which is the idea that men and women are socialised differently from childhood onwards. The deficit approach, as argued by Robin Lakoff (1975), states that one language is inferior to the other. I believe that men and women are not all that different but are socialised in a way that makes them different.

Deborah Tannen (1990) says that there is a difference between men and women’s language, which would be supported by the data in the table. Tannen states “the desire to affirm that women are equal has made some scholars reluctant to show that they are different”. Tannen says that women are more co-operative, more polite and give less input which could be one of the reasons that they do not interrupt as often, if at all. Whereas men are more comparative, this could be why they all interrupted during the conversation and had the longest length of time speaking. However, this may just be the way that society has taught us to be and therefore we don’t really know any different.

From the table, woman D speaks the most. However, she is interrupted the most which could be related to the dominance theory. Men are more dominant compared to females and men interrupt women more in mixed gender conversation. This fits with Tannen’s view which says that women belong to "different sub-cultures" who are socialised differently from childhood onwards. Tannen argues that theorists like Lakoff and Spender see language in terms of power and powerlessness.

The dominance theory is argued by theorist, Jennifer Coates in 1993. The dominance approach “sees women as an oppressed group and interprets differences in women's and men's speech in terms of men's dominance and women's subordination.”  Women are known to use more polite phrases rather than commands, for example: “would you please”, “please can you”. It’s also been argued that men use more taboo language which can highlight that we live in a patriarchal society. Another thing that closely links with the dominance theory is the stereotypes like, “you can’t do it, you’re a woman”, implying somehow that men are more capable just because of their gender. Men are stereotypically more aggressive and dominant which is then expressed through the language they use, which may be imperatives. This is the language which is supposedly not socially acceptable for women to use.

From the table, we can see data which represents the dominance theory. This is because it appears that the men dominate the conversation in the meeting. We can see this through the men having more turns in speaking and the length of time they speak is longer. Man F interrupted 8.0 on average but was also the male who was interrupted the most at 6.7. This shows that the men are not just interrupting the women but they are interrupting each other. In relation to the dominance theory, men fight for power not just with women but with themselves.

Robin Lakoff argues the deficit approach. This is the idea that men and women speak two different languages and that one is inferior to the other. This can be shown in Table 1 as it seems that women’s language is passive and oppressed. In the table, men have more turns on average and they speak for longer than the women.  As shown in the data, there is the idea that women speak less frequently. Lakoff found that women use more hedges like “sort of” or “it seems like”. There is also the use of empty adjectives such as “adorable” or “gorgeous”. However, Lakoff doesn’t use statistics but phrases such as “many men” or “men tend to” which are generalisations which lack evidence. There have also been changes between the genders since 1975 so her work could be considered out-dated. Deborah Cameron (1995) challenges the whole idea that there are two different and contrasting languages and that this is simply the deficit model approach; there are other explanations for differences in the way that men and women use language. There may be the effect of social class or socio-economic status which affects the way in which the two genders communicate.

The deficit model approach claims that women’s language is inferior to men’s. This bold claim is surprisingly backed by the data in Table 1, as the women had less turns, time in turns and was interrupted more than they did interrupt. Lakoff supports this theory, claiming women generally use more politeness strategies, as to keep the conversation flowing and keep the other person comfortable, whereas men are more competitive and dominate conversation.

In conclusion, Table 1 and the data in it perfectly portrays the 3D’s in a clear sense, and easily represents the changes in language due to gender, and helps look a dominance, deficit and difference. Gender equality is still a massive on-going issue today, as we claim to have a sense of equality, yet still stereotype and favour one gender, for example in the workplace. We have a long way to go before we can really feel a sense of equality. Looking at the differences in language, we can understand the key factors that make women and men so different in the eyes of society. We can learn to understand each other and overcome the differences, to finally have the sense of equality we deserve.

Opinion Style Models

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/04/national-grammar-day-rules

Date: 4th March 2016

This article is about what someone considers to be bad grammar or not.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationopinion/9966117/Text-speak-language-evolution-or-just-laziness.html

Date: 3rd April 2013

The writer expresses his opinion by showing his disgust at young children using text talk by emphasizing the fact that children need to be educated on how to use language properly.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/30/the-drunken-aussie-accent-theory-is-another-slur-on-our-rich-use-of-english

Date: 30th October 2015

This article is about the Australian accent.

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/mea-culpa-a-flashy-backlash-against-mixed-metaphors-a6993711.html

Date: 22nd April 2016

This article is about mixed metaphors and some conventions of language.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/25/after-40-years-of-being-lied-to-its-time-to-leave-the-eu/

Date: 25th April 2016

This is an opinion article from someone who wants to leave the EU.

"Why superlatives are the absolute worst (unless you're Donald Trump)"

http://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2016/apr/15/why-superlatives-are-the-absolute-worst-unless-youre-donald-trump

Example Exam Answer

Analyse how Text A uses language to create meanings and representations.

[25 marks]

The form of Text A is an online forum from the website Mumsnet. This is shown in the acronym, “MNHQ””, meaning Mumsnet Headquarters. The purpose of this text is to open up discussion on differing views about “prom”. The audience is mothers of school leaver children because that is when proms occur.

There are some abbreviations in Text A such as, “AIBU”, “DD” and “BTW”. These relate to the online mode of the text but it may also be typical of teenage sociolect. This could suggest that the writer, woollyideas, who uses most of these, has teenage children. This is further supported by the topic of proms because children leave school at around the age of 16. Woollyideas also uses the low-frequency lexical choice of, “competitive consumerism”.  This may show intelligence which could be her trying to put herself above the other mothers. The adjective, “naff”, shows that this text is written in an informal register which may be because it is a friendly discussion. Mumsnet advises people that they, “don’t allow personal attacks” which may be why they are trying to keep the conversation comfortable.

The use of rhetorical interrogative syntax in the text is frequent. This can be seen in, “is okay?” This is suggesting that woollyideas strongly disapproves of this kind of expenditure. This idea is further supported in the interrogative, “what sane parent”, suggesting that the efforts some parents go to for their children’s prom is ridiculous. The term, “these parents” is almost dismissing them which may be another example of woollyideas making herself seem superior.

The clause, “it is not a fight club” in the opening syntax of the Mumsnet warning is trying to stop arguments from participants in discussion. This may be why writers are implying their strong opinions instead of outright saying them. For example, muckycarpet says, “Don’t be a grump!” but then continues to say, “Although the helicopter is way OTT!” This is an example of positive negative face as muckycarpet is contradicting her views. This shows that she doesn’t want to completely disagree with woollyideas which may be due to the guidelines.

There is a discourse marker of “okay” used at the beginning of the first speaker. This is addressing the situation and showing that she is going to give her opinion. It is almost as though she is marking her territory. The emoticons throughout the text are used to soften the opinions of others. One example is from woollyideas using an emoticon which is replacing lexis. This is quite a contemporary thing to do with the increase in social media as emojis are used to display feelings without actually saying them.

Analyse how Text B uses language to create meanings and representations.

[25 marks]

The form of Text B is a tabloid newspaper article from the Mirror. The purpose is to inform readers on the increasing expenditure that boys spend on prom. The audience could be families of teenage school leaver children, in particular boys.

Throughout the article, there are lots of statistics and figures used: “24% more” and “average £385”. This gives the reader some facts to support the ideas in the text. The use of these figures make the reader more likely to believe what they are saying. The address term, “Debenhams spokesman” is used. This gives “Ed Watson” more credibility since it states his involvement with the topic. 

There is a neologism blend of ‘prom’ and ‘Godzilla’ to make “Promzilla” used in the text. This is used to describe teenager girls who are “obsessed” with prom. This can be seen as quite degrading since it is making their hobby seem trivial. In a quote by Ed Watson, he uses the address term, “ladies”. This can be seen as quite patronising when the definite article “the” is used as a prefix. This is almost objectifying girls which relates to them wanting to look good for prom.

The use of sophisticated punctuation in the phrase, “Mr Watson said:” shows that this text has quite a formal register. The discourse of the text is fairly cohesive as it is made up of mostly compound syntax. This makes it a lot easier for the audience to read, especially when the text is aimed at families.

The image of Daniel Craig shows the audience how the Mirror says that boys are aspiring to look like. This leaves less to the imagination of the reader and it gives them that image as they are reading the text. The message being portrayed throughout the article is that proms involve a lot of expenditure which is higher with girls than boys. It almost makes it seem ridiculous and unnecessary.

The verbs “rocketing” and “soaring” are used to show the reader how the prices are increasing. This can be seen as quite hyperbolic to give a better effect on the audience.

Compare and contrast Text A and Text B, showing ways in which they are similar and different in their language use.

[20 marks]

Text A and B are thematically linked with similarities but there are some differences in their language use.

The register of Text A is informal which can be seen through the use of slang lexis such as, “frothy” and “naff”. These are all used to show opinion. This is different to Text B which is mostly informative through the use of declarative syntax and statistics such as, “24% more on their outfit than a year ago.” The register is more formal than Text A which may be due to it being an edited article published online rather than an online forum. The discourse in Text A is not very cohesive as there are lots of different speakers conveying lots of different ideas. Whereas in Text B, it is a lot more cohesive since the text is continuing with the same idea.

Text A has a lot of interrogative syntax in it such as, “What’s a Prom?” because it is a conversation between mothers. There is some turn taking in Text A which relates to the interrogatives. The structure of syntax in Text A uses a lot of non-standard grammar shown in the participant webwiz who uses the single noun phrase “Prom fair” along with a shocked face emoticon. However, Text B is mostly made up of declarative syntax such as, “shoes and bow ties soaring by 20%”. This is because it is supposed to be informative and not display much opinion. It is mostly made up of compound syntax with clauses.

Text A and B both use the informal noun, “limos” instead of ‘limousine’. This could be because it is usually shortened in our daily lives and both of the audiences are working class/lower middle class so they are trying to make it more relatable to them. It relates to the social norms of today. The semantics and pragmatics of both texts give negative connotations about prom. Woollyideas displays her string dislike for prom in Text A and there is negativity surrounding expenditure in Text B. Both texts are implying that proms are extreme and unnecessary.

Overall, the texts are linked by the theme of prom but they display slightly different ideas through the use of language. Although they are different in some ways, the main idea being portrayed throughout both texts is that prom are intense and unrequired.

"Moms: as American as motherhood and apple pie" Summary

http://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2016/mar/18/moms-as-american-as-motherhood-and-apple-pie

This article is about the conflict between the English language and American English. It mentions British people finding "Americanisms" annoying and how Americans don't like their people using lexis such as "mum" instead of "mom".

"New exclamation mark rules – proof that The Man wants to penalise enthusiasm!"

http://www.theguardian.com/education/shortcuts/2016/mar/07/new-exclamation-mark-rules-proof-the-government-wants-to-penalise-enthusiasm

Feminism Article Analysis

Text A - http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/2578625-Bluewater-and-Breitling-remove-your-offensive-display-now

Text B - http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/14/female-characters-should-be-more-than-athletic-but-sexy-28

Text A

·         Form – online forum, mumsnet e.g. social media links

·         Purpose – create discussion about sexualisation of women

·         Audience – mums, arguably older/middle aged women e.g. links relating to mothers such as “family meal planner”

·         Informal register – written as though spoken e.g “ugh”

·         “Overtly sexualised” – low frequency adverb which suggests intelligence

·         “Fucking” – taboo lexis which shows outrage. Also not a stereotypical aspect of women’s speech

·         “Wtaf?” – an acronym which relates to the online mode but is also a stereotypical feature of teenager speech – may have teenage children? Convergence?

·          “This is worth getting worked about” – this is showing opinion but it has some sarcasm which is disagreeing with the majority

·         “I believe the phrase is, “no shit Sherlock” – shows sarcasm

·         “This has no place in 2016” – short, simple syntax displays anger

·         “I was no. 53!” – exclamative which shows shock

·         “What is her function?” – interrogative which shows that they are questioning what the purpose of the display is

·         “I guess” – shows that the speaker is unsure of where to find the petition which suggests that she lacks confidence even with the safety of being an anonymous online user

·         “’historical reasons’” – the quotation marks show that the writer is questioning what the contribution is to society, it could also show that they are being sarcastic

·         The social media links down the side of the page show that the platform is online, however, it is common for children, mostly teenagers, to use

·         “Ugh” – is written how it is spoken which supports the informality

·         Turn taking between ‘SlowFJH’ and ‘BarefootAcrossHotLegoPieces’ – makes a part of the text more cohesive, relates to Schegloff’s theory

·         Mostly made up of incomplete syntax which means the text overall is not really cohesive which could show the informality

·         The picture of the display – shows readers what is meant by the description of the display, leaves less to the imagination

·         Adverts targeted at the audience – e.g. “Avon Anew Essential Youth Maximising Serum”

·         “Useful tools” e.g. “baby name finder” relates to mothers/expecting mother

Text B

·         Form – broadsheet newspaper article from The Guardian e.g. links at the side of page to more serious article e.g. “Jeremy Corbyn” (politics)

·         Purpose – to inform people about some depths of feminism

·         Audience – mostly older women, upper working class/lower middle class?

·         Formal register – e.g. adjectives such as “indistinguishable”

·         “Abysmal” – low frequency adjective

·         “Hypersexualised” – low frequency verb, shows intelligence which relates to Guardian readers and the type of articles it produces

·         “Rich Smith” – comments used by speakers support the credibility of the article

·         “See? Who said we still need feminism?” – interrogatives that show sarcasm since the writer’s message is strongly for feminism

·         Quotations e.g. “middle aged” – make it more reliable

·         Complex syntax – complex topic?

·         “It’s cumulative.” – short, simple syntax – shows anger?

·         “Tell better stories.” – simple syntax, abrupt ending. Maybe an order?

·         “Tell better stories.” – could show that people are believing what they read in the media instead of fully understanding the feminist message

·         “nooooooooooo!” – opinion, disagreeing, written as spoken language

·         “@femscriptintros” – relates to the online mode

·         “#OscarsSoWhite” – relates the online form and could maybe be used to intrigue a younger audience

·         Social media links – spreading the word via the internet?

Similarities

·         Both have some sarcastic content

·         There is underlying anger in the messages displayed in both texts

·         Use of interrogatives

·         Both include social media links which spread the message and promote their website

·         Similar audiences

Differences

·         Text A has an informal register whereas text B is formal

·         Text B is more cohesive than text A

·         More low frequency lexis in text B

·         Incomplete syntax in text A, more complex syntax in text B

·         Quotes are used in text B