register part 1
TRANSCRIPT
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Register Theory
The Effect of Context on Text
English Discourse Analysis
Week 2, 2010-11
Rachel Whittaker (Grp 41)
Mick O’Donnell, Laura Hidalgo (Grp 46)
1. Introduction to DA
ReadingsReadings: If something is asked of you in a reading, it should be
handed to me at the next class after its week in the
cronograma. So, please give me the first two readings for
next week.
Linguistic DiaryLinguistic Diary: Write about the way you use language, which
languages you use, and how e.g., informally, spoken/written,
etc.
Summarise 1 working day and 1 weekend day.
(no more than 1 page handwritten for both together)
Analysis of textsAnalysis of texts: in class we will analyse the register of the texts
on p6-8 of the class pack. You need to analyse another 6 of
the texts on pages 9-10, 13-14.
Vocabulary for texts on pages10 is given on p11-12
Send me by email 3 analyses per week.
1.X ADDENUM
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2. Register Theory
1. Background
2. Analysing register in texts
3. Field, Tenor, Mode
4. Intepretation of register features
2.1 Background
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How did we interpret that dialogue?
• Recognizing context
• Knowledge of behaviour in context
• Knowledge of linguistic behaviour in context
2. Register Theory2.1 Background
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• The following two sentences say the same thing, but
say it in ways appropriate to different contexts of
situation:
a) I handed my essay in late because my kids got sick.
b) The reason for the late submission of my essay was
the illness of my children.
• In what context might you use (a).
• In what contexts would you use (b)?
2. Register Theory2.1 Background
What is the role of context?• We notice the role of context when things go wrong:
speakers don’t know the rules –children, foreigners
• To understand language use:
theory of context
-how does context influence text?
-how do we extract context from text?
= ContextContext of of situationsituation (what is going on)
and RegisterRegister (the language associated witha given situation type
2. Register Theory2.1 Background
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Model of register –language in context
Systemic linguistics
British tradition of linguistics via anthropology:
Malinowski, (Professor of Anthropology)
influenced
Firth (historian + African/Indian languages, phonetics
Prof Gen Linguistics London)
taught
Halliday (linguistics + Chinese + English)
Malinowski (20s-30s) studied
Trobriand society (South Seas)
Study of meaning
the sentence in context of utterance.
Necessary: knowledge of the cultural characteristics
reflected in the contexts of situation
embedded in the context of culture.
Meaning = ‘function in context’ (what the utterance does in its context of utterance)
language = 'a mode of action, rather than as a countersign of thought'
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Firth (40s-50s) Context of situation
Malinowski = concrete features of a situation
Firth = abstract schematic construct
"a group of related categories at a different level fromgrammaticalcategories but rather of the same abstract nature"
Implies predictability:
- from context to features of the language
- from text/ dialogue to the situation.
Dimensions of situation according to Firth:
A. The relevant features of participants: persons, personalities
(i) The verbal action of the participants
(ii) The non-verbal action of the participants
B. The relevant objects
C. The effect of the verbal action
Many aspects of the current situation may affect what we say and how we say it,
– Some aspects are just one-off (particular to this particular context),
– Other aspects have a regular (recurrent) relation to the context.
• Those aspects of the context-language co-occurence which are regular (frequently co-occur) can be taken as part of the system of language, and are thus a valuable part of the study of linguistics.
• We can talk about “situation types”, abstract situations which frequently occur and in which some patterns of language use also re-occur.
• Eg., casual conversation, legal language, written language, etc.
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Halliday:
Organised the relevant situational features into a schema of three parts:
Aspects of context that affect language:
FIELD: what the language is being used to talk about
TENOR: the role relationships between the interactants
MODE: the role language is playing in the interaction
Example: a recipe in a cook book
Field: cooking (ingredients and process of preparing food)
Tenor: expert writer to a learner, learner is beneficiary of the advice
Mode: written, prepared. Text often read as part of process of
cooking.
2. Register Theory2.2 Mode
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2. Register Theory2.2 Mode
Situation Types•Casual Conversation
•Telephone conversation
•Fax
•Radio Show (not talkback)
•Novel
Dimensions of Mode+/- Visual
+/- Aural
Feedback: none, immediate, delayed
2. Register Theory2.2 Mode
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2. Register Theory2.2 Mode
2. Register Theory2.2 Mode
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• Mode: what part the language is playing in the interaction:
– Role: Ancillary (language accompanying nonverbal activity, aswhen we talk as we cook together) or constitutive (the event isdefined by the language, as in a speech).
– Channel: written vs. spoken, or some mix.
• Projected channel: where the actual channel is not the intendedchannel: ‘written to be spoken’ (e.g., a speech), ‘spoken as ifwritten’ (e.g., reciting)
– directionality: uni-directional channel or bi-directional (uni-directional allows only monologue, while a bi-directional channelallows dialogue)
– Media: +/-visual contact (e.g., -visual for a telephoneconversation); use of multimedia (blackboard, powerpoint, etc.)
– Preparation: spontaneous vs. prepared; rushed vs. time forreflection;
2. Register Theory2.2 Mode
• Role: ancillary: more references to the nonverbal environment (“give that to
me”) which can be done using definite reference or demonstratives, while
reflective (constitutive) contexts, entities need to be introduced, often by
indefinite reference (I met a man called John).
• Media: +visual: more references to objects in the visual environment using
demonstatives (that), pronouns (it) and definite reference (the bowl).
• Preparation: in unprepared speech: false starts, ums and errs, spelling and
grammar errors, etc. Less of these in prepared (= revised) text or speech.
• Directionality: monologue in general uses declarative sentences, although
some rhetorical questions, and presence of imperatives in instructions.
Dialogue can use declaratives, interrogatives and imperatives. Higher degree
of ellipsis in dialogue (answers provide just the needed information, e.g.,
Q: Where did you see her? A: At the shops.)
• Channel: written text tends to have higher abstractness (expressing events in
nouns, e.g., “your absence” rather than “You missed the party”, relations in
nouns (“the reason” rather than “because”), etc. In spoken texts, verbs more
likely to express action, while in writing, “be/have/etc.” more common.
2. Register Theory2.2 Mode: Linguistic realisations
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2. Register Theory2.2 Mode: Linguistic realisations