The Language Web : My Summary

This article consists of the historical thoughts on the spoken language of English as well as the changes that happen throughout the centuries. 

Within the first paragraph, The writer of the article, Jean Aitchison, does not waste time getting her thoughts across with quite a unusual yet, thought-provoking question, 'is our language sick'. It then goes on to read that the sickness of the English language is almost like being plagued by, 'idiots on radio and television', who may have an influence on their listeners/ viewers without even noticing.

This being all said, however, the real question comes into view in black and white, at a stage in the present where English has become a worldwide language to learn, 'is it really in need of hospital treatment', in a sense that the plague has spread a negative u dear stand of English? 

'Of course it isn't', Aitchison states, referring back to the previous question. 

Further on, the next few paragraphs continue, mentioning that language naturally changes throughout the years of humanity (or in the form of what Geoffrey Chaucer, once an author, poet and philosopher, he noted "in forme of speeche is change", which simply means in form of speech is change or language changes).

  The historical attribute is a major feature within this article. This becomes significantly known as the language of the 18th century english is commented on, referring to howLatin language is introduced in the English language and how the practise of the language was seen as 'good' when acknowledging the middle and upper class of that time. 

  It then goes on about the usage of the right rules for right language and the benefits of the knowing the rules. For example, due to the fact that verbs, within English phrasing, are usually put within the sentence structure. However, this isn't necessarily the case for when looking another language, such as Turkish, where in stead of putting the verb in the middle 'the spider caught the fly', theTurkish language would have the verb 'caught' at the very end of the sentence, which make the sentence, 'the spider the fly caught. (PS - I have nothing against Turkish people, from what I know, they are very nice citizens if the world and there language is eccentric)

 At first, I couldn't see the actual reason for this apart from some languages seem a bit in the reverse 'literally' but as the article progresses, the whole concept of the rule is initiated to its full prim and need in a way that could lead to a whole catastrophic interpretation... In English Henry ate a octopus would mean that Henry has a craven for a tucking down on sea life. However, (and this is a big however) if you don't take into account the changing of the verbs itching a language, Henry doesn't have a craving for sea life but instead, the Octopus has a taste for humans, 'The octopus ate Henry).

 In this way, it can be said that these are the real, genuine rules of a language, that won't change over time to a pint of being impractical to anyone but will develop with the languages of the world, still keeping its law, allowing itself to adjust accordingly. 

Another historical outburst is one of a daily mail letter, consisting of misuse by radio presenters of the phrase 'different to' where in a short period ago of approximately 50 or so years ago, the writer spoke of the phrase rightly being, 'alike to' or 'different from'. 

Obviously, one persons opinion isn't always going to change the view of a whole dictionary or use of certain phrases but this doesn't always mean that having it passed down from generation to generation won't have a substantial outcome. 

The paragraphs and dont's and don'ts rather then do's and dont's handles (or should I say strangles) the thoughts on phrasing that is very common within the English vocabulary, that not even someone who has spoken English all their lives may notice unless told otherwise. These generation laws as I've pronounced them, have, from my knowledge, nonexistent, to a degree of only hearing a person correct me or an associate say 'I've got "loads of time"' to  'no you don't, you got "ample time". 

Based on these terms of historical background, the differences in worldwide languages and the opinions of individuals who either infamous due to them being ordinary or famous, due to them have a Shakespeare-like change in the way we speak, listen, write and read, the thoughts of Jean Aitchison conclude that the web of language is controlled by a human outlook, the human species' past, present and future of development.

Transcript Analysis

Based on my own transcript between my mother, brother and myself, I have examined and found elements of spoken language that contain ellipsis, factors to do with locution, illocution and perlocution and other elements of spoken language. 

The first noticeable feature from the transcript is the statement my mother says that is actually a question, 'T?'. By having notice the question mark,  this statement is in fact a call, for response. This, then, means that the transcript begins with a context dependent structure as most people wouldn't refer that to a question towards them.

Furthermore, concentrating on the singular letter, 'T' has been used as a call towards me. This simpler form of my name, it being Terrence, produces thoughts of ellipsis, which then directs the attention if a personal pronoun being used in a even more informal manner of speaking, expressing the relationship between my mother and I to be comfortable. 

Alternatively, due to the statement being context bound, a person who may not fully understand what the question implies may refer this to the question being a whole different interrogative  reference, 'would you like a cup of tea?'. Therefore, this only reinforces the association with the text being context dependent. 

Another feature within the transcript is focus on locution, illocution and perlocution. 

Further down the text, the conversation between me and my mother  is still in progress and whilst happening, another spoken language feature is noticed when written but not when spoken during  the recording. 

I'm effect, by my mother stating 'it's quarter to 1', is her way of saying, 'you had the whole day to so your homework and yet, you decide to do it at the time when you should be getting ready for bed, it's late'. Now, considering the reference from such a short phrase, it being the locution, may only happen when the relationship between the two subjects have gotten to known each other over a long period of time. 

Looking at this in a correlative way, the longer and closer the relationship between people, the shorter you can create the phrase/ word and the more the person/people you are conversing with will understand you.

The Transcript is stated below for better reference (otherwise this blog won't make too much sense to you). Apologies for any typos within this blog.

Mum: T?

Me: Yeah?

Mum: What you doing? Go to bed.

Me: I'm doing my work.

Mum: It's quarter to 1

Me: I Know

(2) Mum: Don't say nothing when you wake up for school tomorrow

(5) To myself: [You know what I'm tired]

((2 Minutes later))

Brother: You need to go bed y'know?

Me: I know, I Know

Activity 40- P149

A) The text for extract A ha a in media res structure a character that seems to be a female character who has committed a form of manslaughter but isn't ready to be charged and had gone into a state of break down. She seems to have a form of a religious status due to her referring also to Apostles from Christianity.

B) This specific person sounds like a female who either has qualifications as a home nurse who looks after an elderly lady who has recently been classified as deceased or even someone who has a career as a GP or Nurse.

C) To be quite frank, I have no idea on what this could be…maybe Doctor Gooodhearts assistant.

D) Seems as the the person could have a job similar to be a Nurse who takes the opportunity to go a little further then what some nurses do and take the initiative to put a smile on her patients' face, even if in what some people may call a demeaning way.

E) At this point, the character seems to be more focused on waiting to get home and what Doctor Goodheart is doing for patients, instead of concentrating on what he wants.

        F)It seems that there is a further confirmation that the character is what some people refer to as a 'church goer' and engages in metaphors from her religious life with what she does in her profession within hospital.

Plain English Campaign (My Thoughts)

The Plain English Campaign organisation seem to be a industry that are targeting the likes of people who have the authority to bring about a real and significant change in the use of clear, understandable and meaningful English for not only countries such as the United Kingdom but also abroad on a global scale, pinpointing economic countries overseas such as America, Ghana and Hong Kong as stated done from the brief information mentioned on the organisations head of editing, Katherine Ardern. Other wide scaling countries such as Russia and Brazil are even spoken of to have been given the opportunity of creating ties with the Campaign through presentations from George Maher, their regular speaker.

 Based on ideas of the amount of work being directed at getting rid of jargon and the gobbledygook of the world, my opinion in decreasing the amount of jargon is a strong and needed declaration within  languages spoken around the globe. By doing this, it can be reinstating equality amongst the lower class and higher class citizens within cites in countries, connecting and producing a bigger understanding of not only what a friend with a higher education may be talking about but also governments or others within a high status field of work within the economy.

This is just to say (extended)

This is just to say

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold



Reply

Dear Bill: I’ve made a
couple of sandwiches for you.
In the icebox you’ll find
blueberries-a cup of grapefruit
a glass of cold coffee.

On the stove is the teapot
with enough tea leaves
for you to make tea if you
prefer-Just light the gas-
boil the water and put in the tea

Plenty of bread in the bread-box
and butter and eggs-
I didn’t know just what to
make for you. Several people
called up about office hours-

See you later. Love. Floss.

Please switch off the telephone.



Response Back

Thanks
That is
wonderful
Sounds great

I will do Your
Straight
Forward
Commands honey

don't worry
I will eat
Everything

maybe see you
soon and give
Your present

bye sugar plums

P.S don't worry about
the
peaches

The Conventions of a Dramatic Monologue

Before even going into aspects of what makes a good dramatic monologue (or persona monologue), we must first understand what really is a monologue.
  A monologue  is simply a speech made by one person, which can be sometimes be spoken from a piece of text that has been written by someone else previously. The word monologue comes from mono, meaning one and log, meaning spoken or keeping a record of something spoken.
  When answering the actual question of what a dramatic monologue is, however, the difference is small but significant. This is because dramatic monologue  can consist of conferences, books, speeches and poems that are in a first person view and are shorter then monologues that can be an entire part of a play/performance. All of these types of dramatic monologue consist of different techniques to a produce a certain quality, which could influence the depth of the subtext within the,.
  Subtext is the under meaning of what something could mean and why it has been picked. An example of this is someone wearing red. By wearing this colour it could suggest thoughts of sexuality, love or even danger due to how stereotypes of this colour has been created.
   By looking at subtext, then, not only does it reveal emotions but when used in a deeper understanding, it can help you consider other aspects of the monologue, such as what gender wrote it, how old they were, what type of bringing up or education they had/have and even culture and religion.
  When examining dramatic monologues, it can be said that they are forms of what some may call 'silent dialogue', meaning that when reading them, they can be precieved as more 'conversational' then a usual monologue allows.
  Techniques used in a dramatic monologue  can be obvious, such as a lack of punctuation used to represent a child speaking or a lack of vocabulary. This isn't always the case, however. The reason being because the obvious isn't always what is the reality. A lack of punctuation could emphasis a grown adults lack of education due to their upbringing, being deprived of education due to family difficulty. A lack of vocabulary could even be someone who is foreign from the language, still trying to adjust to the language.
This is only a fraction of the many different techniques that can be used in a dramatic monologue.
  By thinking outside of the box or even going deeper into the abyss of what you think, you find that famous dramatic monologues from William Shakespeare or Robert Browning are famous for a reason that you haven't realised yet, it's just waiting to be discovered..


 Terrence Telfer

Transcript

Mum: T?
Me: Yeah?
Mum: What you doing? Go to bed.
Me: I'm doing my work.
Mum: It's quarter to 1
Me: I Know
(2) Mum: Don't say nothing when you wake up for school tomorrow
(5) To myself: You know what I'm tired]
((2 Minutes later))
Brother: You need to go bed yknow?
Me: I know, I Know

NOTE: all definitions are based on personal knowledge and may not be 100% adequate to everyone's opinion. Enjoy.

Phatic Language/ Expression
 - a kind of speech act
 - an indication that can consist of commenting in way that doesn't actually express what is being said but something else.
Example - 'what's good?' Really means 'how are things?' Or 'what you been doing?'.

Pragmatic
 - implied
 - cant be taken seriously

Cultural Assumptions
 - how something is may be understood by another country but may not be understood from a different culture or background.

Locution
 - something spoken that is a referred to as the literal meaning.

Illocution
 - the implied spoken term that is given from the locution (literal term).

Perlocution
 - the final perceived meaning that the subject takes from the locution (literal term).

Phatic Language
 - the concept of speaking in a less formal, sociable manner.

Formality
  - the way in which someone speaks, depending on their behaviour and tone.

Deixis (Greek for 'point')
 - words that refer/ point something out.

Context Independent
 - you don't need context due to the text being written in a way that establishes why and whom it's been written for.

Context Dependent
 - you need context to understand the written text.

Pronoun
 - a word that can substitute a noun to expand the grammar within the sentence/ phrase giving a certain degree of depth within the said sentence/ phrase.

Communication at its worst

This blog, done by producer Timbanland, is directed at people who was given then job to find interns for his studio. Timbaland thanks them by establishing that they 'did a good job'. Whilst doing this, he always states to another collegue that he needs more staff. This tweet, then, is directed at the hiring of employers. However, the concept of pressionalism is not necessarily injected due to the slang used 'y'all and 4, being examples of shortening down words.

Timbanlamd also creates another tweet giving the effect of being somewhat full of himself by stating the fact that he makes money when doing nothing.

BBC

The media uses aspects of communication such as radio usage, images, written text and so on. 

By using these different aspects of language, we as an audience, have the opportunity to see a variety of language, depending in out circumstances, whether if we'e blind, we can listen from the radio or if we are deaf, e can see by written text and images from the media. By doing this, the media gets to us in any means possible. 

The media is always making quick ways to catch their audience attention. Images do this as well as big text titles that don't always mean what the story is.

Electronic Mode of Communication

Modern, electrical modes used for communication are numerous. Some of them are listed below:
-Email
-Fax
-Radio
-Telephone/Mobile Phone
-Text Messaging
-Internet Social Networking:
Twitter
Msn
Facebook
Myspace
Bulletin Boards

George Orwell's politics and the english language seems to be a realisation of how the whole concept of the english language is and has become ”ready-made phrases”, due to them being 'preset' into our own vocabulary. George Orwell seems to stamped down onto the fact that language has become somewhat slubby, lazy and has decreased its lack of thought from writers creating metaphors that are practically useless, to professors not making sense of what they write.

Furthermore, his views on politics, being firmly identified as 'a mass of lies and can influence the world of language depending on the political background of the said country. While continuing to fall deeper into his thoughts on how language has become, it seems that he himself falls into open-ended questions and phrases that seem to be something Yoda from Star Wars would say, "if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought". This abstract has no language flaws similar to how Yoda would speak but seems to unravel itself into a multitude of things not to do and things that even supposed, 'english professionals' still do that they shouldn't.

While Orwell's viewpoint on how language has taken a wrong turn is valid, he does seem to portray the thought of being more grumpy then worried. However, this though is damped by the aspects of humour written.

George Orwell sees "language as an instrument for expressing" and having expressed himself, has not only left questions answered but has also created many more for other Orwell-like observers to consider in thought on what they do, how they do anything and how it all ties up to the world of language.

"One cannot change this all in a moment, but one can at least change one's own habits" - George Orwell