Comparing and Contrasting Texts

Simon PeggWednesday 27th January 2021

Learning purposes

• To consider the importance of phonology and accentual features when comparing and contrasting texts • To review understanding of discourse structure• To compare and contrast spoken and written language

Recap of previous learningØOn the next slides…

Future learningØDeveloping our ability to comparing

and contrast language ØRefine analytical writing skills ØRevise linguistic concepts and apply

these selectively and methodically

Recap - phonology

• It is crucial that for your spoken language text, you consider phonological features. • Write down as many phonological features that you can remember.

Phonology

• Accentual features• Intonation• Emphatic stress• Interruptions• Pauses (timed/micropauses etc.)• h/g dropping• Elision/ellipses• Homograph/homophone/homonym

Accent – Glottal Stops

• It is present in most if not all dialects, however it is mostly recognised in the cockney accent (East London) • ‘uh oh’

• If it is present in a transcript…• It could simply be an accentual feature (especially if you know where the speakers are from)• If both speakers use it, you could argue that it is a sign of convergence• If only one speaker use it, could they be deliberately diverging?• It could be a way of a speaker seeking covert prestige• It is hugely dependant upon the context of the conversation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS2t7HW1PJIhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4MJUi03GHM

Accent

TASK: How is the transcript transcribed to evidence accentual features? Which accent do you think is being portrayed?

• Phonetically, what features are present/omitted?

Discourse structure

This is a hugely important factor that we often overlook in our analysis.

Spoken language• Who frames the conversation? • What turns are taken and why? • What are the roles of all of the speakers? • Are there non-fluency features? Why/why not? • Is it a cooperative or competitive dialogue? • Is this completely spontaneous? Pre-planned to a degree? Carefully

crafted? How does this impact the language choice?

Discourse structure

This is a hugely important factor that we often overlook in our analysis.

Written language• Where is this taken from? Is it the full text or just a part of it? What

makes this evident and why is it important? • Are there discourse markers? Why are they there? What functions as

a discourse marker? • Is the language carefully crafted? Is it to create a more formal or

informal register and tone?

Consider the discourse structure of the ‘Our Day Out’ textWhere has this text been taken from? Is it the full discourse or simply an extract?

Annotate for linguistic features.

Recap

• Context of production – circumstances in which the text was created, who created, when it was created, the cultural landscape etc.

• Context of reception - how the text was received by the public/specialists at various times, societal values etc.

Text B

Text B is a transcription taken from the chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, broadcast on BBC One in September 2007. Simon Peggis an actor, writer and comedian and Jonathan Ross is the chat show host and comedian. It is a part of an eight minute segment in the show, which at the time had a wide audience of around seven million viewers.

What do you think is important to take from this?

Annotation questions

1. Are there any accentual/dialectal features noted from either of the speakers? Why may these be used? Can you link to theory?

2. What lexical fields are present? Are there any patterns that have emerged?

3. What sentence functions/types are used? Why? 4. How is the discourse structured? Who is the agenda setter? What are

the roles of the speakers and are these conformed to in the discourse? 5. Is this an entirely spontaneous conversation? If not, which elements may

have an element of pre-planning? 6. Are any theories applicable to this transcript?

Text C

Text C is an extract from Simon Pegg’s autobiography Nerd Do Well – A small boy’s journey to becoming a big kid. He is reflecting on how he first became interested in the Hollywood blockbuster films, Star Wars.

What do you think is important to take from this?

Annotation questions

1. What ‘type’ of English is used? Why? 2. Consider the use of high/low frequency lexis and find examples of

each. Why is this used and does it link to the intended readership? 3. What sentence functions/types are used? Why? Aim to identify

grammatical patterns. 4. How does Pegg create a subjective tone and why does he do this?

Consider context closely5. How is the discourse structured? How are the different sections

framed? What is the role of each paragraph?6. What connections and variations can we draw to text B?

Levels of languagePhonetics, phonology and prosodics Intonation, stress, volume , h/g dropping, accent, Trudgill, Petyt, Giles, Accommodation theory, elision, contractions, homophone/homograph/homonym , alliteration

Lexis and Semantics denotations/connotations , field specific lexis, polysemy, high/low frequency, Latinate, jargon, formality, dialect, neology, figurative language, synthetic personalisation, irony, euphemism, collocation, humour, Fairclough, Joos

Grammar and morphologyMorphemes, active/passive voice, tense, word class, minor, simple, complex, compound, conjunction fronting, compounding, parenthesis, adverbials, pronouns, ellipsis, exclamative, interrogatives, declaratives, imperatives, determiners, modality, intensifiers

PragmaticsDeixis, turn-taking, convergence, implicature, illocution/locution, presupposition, politeness, cooperative conversation, face, covert/overt prestige, speech acts, back-channelling , Grice, Brown and Levinson, register, Halliday

DiscourseDiscourse markers, anaphoric/cataphoric/exophoric reference, agenda setting, topic shift, topic manager, dominance, length ofutterances, adjacency pair, intertextuality, narrative structure, tone, genre, functions of language, transactional, expressive, instructional, referential, persuasive, performative, phatic

Review the mark scheme

• https://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/171413-unit-h470-1-exploring-language-sample-assessment-materials.pdf

IntroductionsThis introduction is taken from a 36/36 response. What information is included?

Text B and C both revolve around the subject of _______, specifically regarding________. The contexts of the two texts are different, one being a __________between ______and the other being _______. This means that the two texts have very different audience, one being _________ and the other being _______. This creates notable differences between the features identifiable between them as well as the differences identifiable due to their differing written and spoken modes. Contextual factors are compared from the outset (no redundant introduction), with reference to the closely matched topic and differences in mode explored through the language used.

Comparing Text B and Text C Using the Venn diagram or something similar, compare how the texts present Simon Pegg. Include linguistic terminology wherever possible.

Writing – 1 paragraph

Using appropriate linguistic concepts and methods, analyse the ways in which language is used in these two texts.

In your answer you should: • Explore connections and variations between the texts• Consider how contextual factors contribute to the construction of meaning.