Read the following extract then identify the language strategies used by the writer.
Look at them behind their counters-young, neatly outfitted in their starched fast food uniforms or their linen and polyester clerk suits. They quickly and effortlessly tap the keys on their cash registers and computers, answer phones and look quite efficient, don’t they? They seem as if they can think, don’t they? Don’t let the pressed clothes and technology fool you; many of them can’t. Let there be a glitch or a breakdown and then you’ll see what lies beneath the suits and uniforms and beyond the counters- operators of broken-down cash registers and computers who will fumble to spell and calculate. And you, older than them, will wonder what they spent their primary and secondary years learning.
You can spot them every day, everywhere. Last week, for example, I saw the brain of a young attendant at a fast food outlet shut down the instant his computer crashed. Before the crash, he had appeared capable as he punched the appropriate keys for the orders. But when he was faced with having to write down what his customers wanted, he could only operate in slow motion. I know because, to my misfortune, I was about to order a tuna sandwich and a large orange juice when the system failed. After a minute or two of trying to spell the two items, he scrunched up the piece of paper and started writing afresh on a second sheet. I was not sure I’d get the correct meal.
Two days after this calamity, I encountered one of Mr. Illiteracy’s pals a Miss Innumeracy, in a store downtown when I was trying to pay a bill of $26.05 with two twenty- dollar bills. Because of the mix-up the cash register were closed, and so the young girl had to calculate on paper how much change to give me. After an eternity of scratching her head and calculating on a sheet of paper, she handed me $14.05, but, thanks, to my standard five teacher, I had already calculated in my head that I should receive $13.95. When I told her so, she seemed mentally paralysed. Luckily another suited girl, who looked senior in age and rank, came to her rescue. She whipped out a calculator, pressed a few keys, and presto, gave me the right change, scolding Miss Innumeracy for her bad mathematics.
I left, thinking sadly that there nothing I could do to help them make up for the years they had spent in their classrooms not bothering to learn how to read, write or think.
Adapted from Suzanne Mills,: Between the Lines”,
Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, June 2, 2004,p11
CAPE 2006
These are some of the strategies you should have identified.
5. Descriptive words: Adjectives/ adverbs which create visual images for the reader.
6. Rhetorical questions/Repetition: used to influence audience’s response and get them thinking because the writer is suggesting that the people who seem efficient are really the exact opposite.
7. Anecdote: storytelling, sharing personal experience. This gives the audience a real-life picture of how inefficient these people are.
8. Sarcasm: Use of Mr. Illiteracy/ Miss Innumeracy-used to highlight the clerks inefficiency
9. Exclamation marks & commas are used to alert the audience to the inefficiency of the clerks
10. Hyperbole: ‘for an eternity’; mentally paralysed- these phrases are used to emphasize the persona’s impatience and exasperation.
11. Diction: words chosen to evoke a response from the audience, for example “calamity, whipped, crunched up”.
12. Tone: humorous, sarcastic, conversational, conspiratorial, tongue-in cheek ( with ironic or flippant intent)
13. Engaging the reader on her side through evidence from the extract, for example in paragraph 2.
14. Contrast: between the older, more efficient attendant and the younger brainless one, suggesting the ignorance of the younger generation.
15. Narrative voice: first person and very subjective.
Now that we have come to the end I hope you had fun while you were studying and you are now more prepared for your examination.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
CONTEXT OF COMMUNICATION
a. Intrapersonal communication takes place within you and involves your thoughts and feelings. eg. thinking, solving problems, imagining
b. Interpersonal communication is between two persons on a one to one basis .eg. interviews, conversations, intimate communication
c. Small group occurs when a small number of people meet to solve a problem. Here each person has equal opportunity to interact with the members of the group. eg. leadership meetings, role-taking, goal setting
d. Organizational communication involves a formal setting and context within multi-group settings. eg. business, government, educational purposes
e. Mass communication involves highly structured messages and large audiences eg. Print, electric or electronic such as the newspapers, magazines, radio, television, video, computer
f. Public communication involves one dominant person talking to a large audience with the message being highly structured. eg. speeches, debates
g. Intercultural communication involves the sender and the receiver originating from different cultural background.- eg. communicating, across social sub-groups, in tourism
h. Academic communication takes place in structured learning institution or classroom setting. eg. essay, research paper
b. Interpersonal communication is between two persons on a one to one basis .eg. interviews, conversations, intimate communication
c. Small group occurs when a small number of people meet to solve a problem. Here each person has equal opportunity to interact with the members of the group. eg. leadership meetings, role-taking, goal setting
d. Organizational communication involves a formal setting and context within multi-group settings. eg. business, government, educational purposes
e. Mass communication involves highly structured messages and large audiences eg. Print, electric or electronic such as the newspapers, magazines, radio, television, video, computer
f. Public communication involves one dominant person talking to a large audience with the message being highly structured. eg. speeches, debates
g. Intercultural communication involves the sender and the receiver originating from different cultural background.- eg. communicating, across social sub-groups, in tourism
h. Academic communication takes place in structured learning institution or classroom setting. eg. essay, research paper
ELEMENTS IN THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS
1. SENDER - Conceptualizes & encodes messages
2. MEDIUM- Example: letter, e-mail, speech
3. CHANNEL- This is the mode via which the audience will receive the message: EXAMPLE: post office, internet, radio
4. RECEIVER- decodes messages; creates feedback
5. FEEDBACK- interaction between the speaker and the audience. In other words it is a reaction to the message. This may be verbal taking the form of questions.
2. MEDIUM- Example: letter, e-mail, speech
3. CHANNEL- This is the mode via which the audience will receive the message: EXAMPLE: post office, internet, radio
4. RECEIVER- decodes messages; creates feedback
5. FEEDBACK- interaction between the speaker and the audience. In other words it is a reaction to the message. This may be verbal taking the form of questions.
THE COMMUNICATION MODEL
1. The context- environment in which the communication takes place. It includes the time, surrounding, events, physical, culture and psychological climates.
2. The sender-receiver- the sender codifies the context of the message and selects its medium and channel. Both the sender and the receiver conceptualize, encode, and select the medium, channel, decode, interpret and provide feedback.
3. The message- this is the idea, content and feelings the individual wishes to share. Can be either verbal in that it is spoken or written or non-verbal and includes gestures body language smells symbols etc.
4. The medium- relates to that which is used to transmit the message .eg. radio, television, newspaper, magazines etc. NB. This must be appropriate for the context and the receiver
5. The channel- the means through which the message will be transmitted eg. Sound waves, light waves or other sense stimulating means. NB. Must be appropriate for the receiver and the context.
6. Feedback- this is the response of the receiver and the sender to each other.
7. Noise- this a barrier that affects the communication process
2. The sender-receiver- the sender codifies the context of the message and selects its medium and channel. Both the sender and the receiver conceptualize, encode, and select the medium, channel, decode, interpret and provide feedback.
3. The message- this is the idea, content and feelings the individual wishes to share. Can be either verbal in that it is spoken or written or non-verbal and includes gestures body language smells symbols etc.
4. The medium- relates to that which is used to transmit the message .eg. radio, television, newspaper, magazines etc. NB. This must be appropriate for the context and the receiver
5. The channel- the means through which the message will be transmitted eg. Sound waves, light waves or other sense stimulating means. NB. Must be appropriate for the receiver and the context.
6. Feedback- this is the response of the receiver and the sender to each other.
7. Noise- this a barrier that affects the communication process
FEATURES OF LANGUAGE ORGANIZATION
1. strong opening
2. developed body
3. conclusion
4. illustrations to develop points
5. logical linkages
6. focused
7. definition of terms
2. developed body
3. conclusion
4. illustrations to develop points
5. logical linkages
6. focused
7. definition of terms
LANGUAGE STRATEGIES
These are some of the strategies that you will employ when called upon to identify the different language strategies in various types pieces of writings.
1. Type of Language: Language may be spoken or written; informal or formal; personal or impersonal, standard or creole.
2. The Tone: sad, humorous, remorseful, satirical, objective, sarcastic, nostalgic, regretful or jubilant etc.
3. Sentence Construction: simple, compound, direct, complex, verbose etc.
4. Diction: Choice of vocabulary used- slang or formal, clichés, prosaic or florid, simple or stilted, use of coined words, repetition of key words and phrases etc.
5. Use of connotative or denotative words- eg emotive words used to arouse feelings, to suggest, to emphasize factual content, to state a point or words which seem to convey facts but are geared mainly at arousing emotions.
6. Significant use of punctuation marks and ellipsis
7. Lay-out of page: use of headlines, broad sheet layout, advertising-copy-layout, or verse layout.
8. Typographical features:- use of different font size, bold face print, capital letters, spacing, indentation, etc.
9. Use of literary devices- metaphor, personification, simile, irony, rhetorical questions, hyperbole, alliteration, sarcasm, onomatopoeia, etc.
10. Use of rhyme
11. Use of pictures and graphics
1. Type of Language: Language may be spoken or written; informal or formal; personal or impersonal, standard or creole.
2. The Tone: sad, humorous, remorseful, satirical, objective, sarcastic, nostalgic, regretful or jubilant etc.
3. Sentence Construction: simple, compound, direct, complex, verbose etc.
4. Diction: Choice of vocabulary used- slang or formal, clichés, prosaic or florid, simple or stilted, use of coined words, repetition of key words and phrases etc.
5. Use of connotative or denotative words- eg emotive words used to arouse feelings, to suggest, to emphasize factual content, to state a point or words which seem to convey facts but are geared mainly at arousing emotions.
6. Significant use of punctuation marks and ellipsis
7. Lay-out of page: use of headlines, broad sheet layout, advertising-copy-layout, or verse layout.
8. Typographical features:- use of different font size, bold face print, capital letters, spacing, indentation, etc.
9. Use of literary devices- metaphor, personification, simile, irony, rhetorical questions, hyperbole, alliteration, sarcasm, onomatopoeia, etc.
10. Use of rhyme
11. Use of pictures and graphics
WHY IS CREOLE SPOKEN SO POPULARLY?
1.It is the major vehicle of social and national solidarity, identity and the general population
2.It is the preferred language of popular entertainment eg.disc jockeys and poets. It is the language of choice for most cultural entertainment eg. Folk songs, Anancy Stories and Big Bwoy Stories. It is used for poetry, comedy, and roots play. It is used when giving examples in speech in order to put a point across effectively. Lastly it is used by street folks, in that being street smart requires the use of Creole, not Standard English.
3.Jamaican Creole is marketable, and is far more lucrative than Standard English. Eg. slangs and slogans used on personal items such as cars, cups, and clothes. It is used in advertisement, when soliciting sale for goods, when giving humour, jokes, description of person and their dress and appearance as well as on souvenir items.
4.Creole is used as the vernacular of socialization and creates a sense of familiarity in conversations and approaches to others.
5.In some learning situation it is the preferred language to be used.
For example:
a.When students at the primary or pre-primary levels find it easier to understand concepts taught using Jamaican Creole.
b.It gives students the sense that Jamaican Creole is an authentic language and a symbol of their culture.
c.Both students and teachers will recognize structural differences between English and Creole and are better able to correct them.
d.It helps the teacher to better understand students’ errors and to therefore make plans for delivering instructions more effectively.
e.It builds students’ self-confidence, self-esteem and knowledge.
f.Creole speaking children sometimes perform poorly in school because they do not readily join in discussions because they are often told that they (talk bad).
As a language the Jamaican Creole is used in public, private and informal situations. It is the language of the street, a vehicle for expression of our heritage and cultural identity; and despite what some persons might want others to think, the language is used in all strata of our society.
2.It is the preferred language of popular entertainment eg.disc jockeys and poets. It is the language of choice for most cultural entertainment eg. Folk songs, Anancy Stories and Big Bwoy Stories. It is used for poetry, comedy, and roots play. It is used when giving examples in speech in order to put a point across effectively. Lastly it is used by street folks, in that being street smart requires the use of Creole, not Standard English.
3.Jamaican Creole is marketable, and is far more lucrative than Standard English. Eg. slangs and slogans used on personal items such as cars, cups, and clothes. It is used in advertisement, when soliciting sale for goods, when giving humour, jokes, description of person and their dress and appearance as well as on souvenir items.
4.Creole is used as the vernacular of socialization and creates a sense of familiarity in conversations and approaches to others.
5.In some learning situation it is the preferred language to be used.
For example:
a.When students at the primary or pre-primary levels find it easier to understand concepts taught using Jamaican Creole.
b.It gives students the sense that Jamaican Creole is an authentic language and a symbol of their culture.
c.Both students and teachers will recognize structural differences between English and Creole and are better able to correct them.
d.It helps the teacher to better understand students’ errors and to therefore make plans for delivering instructions more effectively.
e.It builds students’ self-confidence, self-esteem and knowledge.
f.Creole speaking children sometimes perform poorly in school because they do not readily join in discussions because they are often told that they (talk bad).
As a language the Jamaican Creole is used in public, private and informal situations. It is the language of the street, a vehicle for expression of our heritage and cultural identity; and despite what some persons might want others to think, the language is used in all strata of our society.
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