Revision Material

Definitions

Grammar - The study of the system and structure of language

Syntax - Sentence Structure

Morphology - Words

Discourse structure - The way in which texts are organised and sequenced

Pragmatics - the context of language

Word class - A group of words that fulfil the same kind of role and function in speech and writing

Lexical word classes -  Have the most members and are open to new membership

Grammatical/closed word classes - Provide connections and cohesion between other words

Noun Phrase - groups of words entered around a noun that acts as the ‘head’ of the phrase

Nouns - naming words

pronouns - takes the place of a noun

concrete nouns - things you can touch

abstract nouns - concepts

Verbs - Either auxiliary or main. Main tell you the action auxiliary give extra info on the main verb.

Auxiliary can be subcategorised between the following:

Primary Auxiliary - Do, have and be

Modal auxiliary - Can, could, will, would, shall, should, must, may and might (have the ability to make a text more polite or more formal or emphasise something’s importance or add formality

Adjectives - describing words (describes an attribute of a noun)

Adverbs - words that describe how verbs are carried out (eg: quickly)

Iconic signs - a direct picture of the thing it represents (often simplified eg: male/female toilet sign)

Symbolic sign - Draw on association and are defined by cultural convention (eg: school logo)

Graphology - The features that contribute to the appearance of a text (eg: fonts, colours etc)

Theorists

Erving Goffman – ‘In Face theory’

Face theory – theory in which an individual has both positive and negative face needs.

Positive face needs – associated with feeling valued and appreciated

Negative face needs – desire to feel independent and not to be imposed on

Interactions can therefore be face threatening acts (FTA’s) which is why people are naturally mindful of other people’s face needs during conversation.

Paul Grice – The 4 Conversational Maxims

1. Quantity – The use of an appropriate amount of detail
2. Quality – Speaking the truth and not knowingly misleading
3. Relevance – Keeping what is being discussed relevant to the topic
4. Manner – Avoiding vagueness and ambiguity

These are also known as the co-operative principals

William Labov - The 6 Narrative categories

The six narrative categories summarise the six elements that a narrator will (generally) conform to when conveying a story

1. Abstract - The indication that the speaker wants a listener’s attention
2. Orientation - The who, what, when, where, why is conveyed 
3. Complicating Action - Main body providing a range of narrative detail
4. Resolution - Final events to give narrative closure
5. Evaluation - adds to the basic story in highlighting the narrator’s opinion / commanding the listener’s attention at important moments
6. Coda - A sign that the narrative is complete 

Types of evaluation:

External - added by the narrator at the time of recounting (not usually part of the series of events) An example would be “now i'm getting to the good part”

Internal - occur at the same time as those in the complicating action

Intensifying - contributes via gestures, repetition or dramatic sounds

Explicative - provides reasons for narrative events

Ferdinand de Saussure - Semiotics

Semiotics - how signs are interpreted and understood (usually have a deeper meaning or connotation). Examples include logos, pictures etc.

The two types of sign are as follows:

1. Iconic signs - A direct image of the thing it represents (often simplified) such as the male/female toilet sign
2. Symbolic Sign - Draw on association and are often defined by social convention. An example would be the school logo

Noun Phrases Analysis

Alton Towers victim learns to walk again (BBC) 

Alton Towers - Pre modifier

victim - Header

learns to walk again - Post Modifier

This first noun phrase describes how a victim (the header and subject of the article) learns to walk again. The post modifier ‘learns to walk again enlightens the reader to what has happened to the subject. The pre modifier ‘Alton Towers’ also gives information about what the subject has been victimised by. 

The Bengali film that influenced world cinema (BBC)

The Bengali - Pre modifier

film - Header

that - Determiner 

influenced world cinema - Post modifier

The title of this article contains a lot of information about the subject and header (the film). The pre modifier notifies the reader that the film originated in Bengal (which intrigues the reader because Bengal would not normally be associated with film as, for example, Hollywood would). The determiner connects the post modifier to the header and helps the reader to determine what significance the film has.

Battle of Britain historic flypast due (BBC)

Battle of Britain historic - Header

flypast - Header

due - Post Modifier

The pre modifier in this noun phrase gives extra information about the header in that it is for the Battle of Britain and that it is historic. The header is also described as being scheduled to happen soon by the post modifier. 

On the front line in Damascus (BBC)

On- Pre modifier

the front line - Header

in - Determiner

Damascus - Post modifier

The pre modifier ‘on’ gives the reader extra information about the article (in the fact that it is from the perspective of someone on the front line). The determiner ‘in’ is used to make the link between the subject and the subject’s location.  

International Skype outage likened to plague (Popular Science)

International Skype- Pre modifier

outage - Header

likened to plague - Post modifier

This article uses two different words to describe the head word. Each word gives different information about the header. The post modifier also gives information (in this case an opinion) about the header. 

New look for birthday boy Prince Harry (Hello!)

New - Pre modifier

Look - Header

for - Determiner

birthday boy Prince Harry- Post Modifier

The header is accompanied by the pre modifier ‘new’ which gives information about the header. The determiner connects the fact that the ‘look’ belongs to ‘Prince Harry’ who is also the ‘birthday boy’. The post modifier gives two different pieces of information to the reader about the subject. 

‘Cuddling up’ Charlotte and George in first official pictures (Hello!)

‘Cuddling up’ - Pre modifier

Charlotte and George - Header

in - determiner

first official pictures - Post modifier

In this noun phrase, three words make up the header; two nouns and a connective. They are complimented by the pre modifier which shows the action that the subject has taken. The post modifier is joined by the determiner ‘in’ to show what relevance the header has to the ‘first official pictures’

M25 road rage killer a step closer to freedom (The Telegraph)

M25 road rage - Pre modifier

killer - Header

a - Determiner

step closer to freedom - Post Modifier

The pre modifier contains two different elements of information. They are about where the incident took place and the nature of the incident. The post modifier is adjoined to the header with the determiner ‘a’ in order to show how the killer is linked to being a ‘step closer to freedom’.

One point I have noticed is that the BBC utilise more fact based headlines to convey an accurate, straight to the point summary of the article to the reader before they have read the article (as you would expect the header to do).

However the less formal websites such as ‘Hello!’ and ‘The Telegraph’ use a surplus of nouns and verbs to give an exaggerated description of the basic subject of the article; prioritising drawing the reader in, over informing the reader of the article’s subject.