Module: English Language and Society
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LS1ELS ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND SOCIETY Autumn Term English Language in the Media English as an International Language Lectures 1-10 Dr Tony Capstick 1 LECTURE 1 (Week 1) Introducing Applied Linguistics Key reading: *Cook, G. (2003) Applied linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Chapter 1 & 2) *Holmes, J. (2013) An introduction to Sociolinguistics. (4th edition). London: Longman. *Mooney, A. & Evans, B. (eds.) (2015) Language, society and power. (4th edition) Oxon: Routledge. (Chapter 1.1 – 1.4) (*essential reading) Key concepts: Language Applied Linguistics Sociolinguistics Prescriptive Descriptive Communication Aims of session: To discuss the structure of the course; its aims; the work required; relevant reading and assessment procedures To introduce the module as a whole, and in particular our approach to English Language and Society To begin to answer the questions: What is language? What is communication? How are they related? How is language communicative? How Applied Linguistics can be used to examine the many ways that language is communicative To look at the range of subject areas this module is going to cover. 2 Exercise 1 What do you think about these words? Do you think they are useful additions to English? What do you suppose someone with Prince Charles’ point of view would say about them? 1. ginormous (adjective): bigger than gigantic and bigger than enormous 2. woot (interjection): an exclamation of joy or excitement 3. chillax (verb): chill out/relax, hang out with friends 3 LECTURE 2 (Week 2) Information and Persuasion: The language of advertising Key Reading: Bell, A. and Garrett, P. (1998) Approaches to media discourse. Oxford: Blackwell (Chapters 3, 7) Cook, G. (2001) The Discourse of Advertising. London: Routledge. *Holmes. J. (2013) An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. (4th edition). Oxon: Routledge (Chapter 11 – The functions of speech) *Mooney, A. & Evans, B. (eds) (2015) Language, society and power. (4th edition) Oxon: Routledge. (Chapter 1.5 & 3.5.4) *Simpson, P. & Mayr, A. (2010) Language and power: A resource book for students. London & New York: Routledge (Chapters A8, B8, C8) Key concepts: Information Persuasion Language functions The anatomy of ads Presupposition Aims of session: To discuss the distinction between information and persuasion To consider how functions of language are interwoven in a range of different texts: adverts, publicity brochures, magazine articles To examine the kinds of linguistic strategies which are used to persuade readers: how language is used to persuade different groups to buy various products 4 Exercise 1: What are the functions of the following sentences? 1. ‘Today I’m going to the shops’ 2. ‘Nice dress!’ 3. ‘I don’t like this book.’ 4. ‘Close the window.’ 5. ‘I like people who speak more than one language.’ Exercise 2: The following are some examples of texts that we might see around us on a daily basis. Which of these would you call informative and which persuasive? Justify your inclusion (or exclusion) by explaining the criteria you are using in your classification. 1. A university prospectus 2. A political manifesto 3. A film trailer 4. A ‘speed limit’ road sign 5. A manufacturer’s label sewn on the outside of clothes – e.g. on jeans or trainers 6. A shop name on a carrier bag 7. A poster in the grounds of a church, with ‘Jesus Lives’ written on it 8. A T-shirt with a slogan on it – e.g. ‘Time to party!’ Exercise 3: What is the presupposition in the following sentences? 1. Reveal your best skin Presupp: 2. The lengths you go to for pleasure Presupp: 3. Why let cramps get the best of you? Presupp: 4. When are you going to take the Special K challenge? Presupp: 5 Exercise 4: Consider the advertisements below. Which elements in them are ‘information’? Which are ‘persuasion’? Also, think about the target audience – how are they tailoring language to communicate to their desired target audience? 6 7 8 LECTURE 3 (Week 3) The language of news coverage Key reading: Conboy, M. (2003) Parochializing the global: Language and the British tabloid press. In Aitchison, J. and Lewis, D. M. (eds.), New media language. London: Routledge. (pp. 45-54). Fairclough, N. (1995) Media discourse. London: Edward Arnold. Grazia, B. (2013) Introducing the language of the news: A student’s guide. Hoboken: Taylor & Francis. *Mooney, A. & Evans, B. (eds) (2015) Language, society and power. (4th edition) Oxon: Routledge. (Chapter 1.6, 1.7 & 4.2, 4.3, 4.5) Key concepts: Linguistic determinism Ideology Power Linguistic features in media language Textual analysis Tabloid vs. Broadsheet Aims of session: To consider the role of persuasion in media texts and in particular newspaper articles To introduce textual analysis and discuss how it can help us to deconstruct media language To examine how the language used in a newspaper can reflect its ideological position 9 Exercise 1: Comment on the use of adjectives in this example “As he sees his son with one of Madonna’s retinue, he tells of his anguish: wouldn’t his humble hut filled with love be far better than a lavish mansion echoing with his adoptive parents’ bitter battle over cash and custody?” The Mail on Sunday, October 19, 2008 Exercise 2: Read the two newspaper articles below. Decide which one is from a tabloid and which one is from a broadsheet. Identify linguistic features to support your decision. Focus on lexical and grammatical choices. Text 1 It beats Stoke on a cold Sunday BIRTHDAY boy Wayne Rooney roasted in the 32°C heat of Dubai yesterday - as his Man Utd team-mates battled 8°C temperatures in STOKE. By ALEX PEAKE Published: 25 October 2010 1. The injured striker joined wife Coleen at their hotel's pool bar as he celebrated turning 25 - days after landing a £250,000-a-week contract to stay at Old Trafford. 2. Meanwhile United were at Stoke City's chilly Britannia Stadium in Staffordshire, where they ground out a 2-1 victory - with both goals coming from his replacement Javier Hernandez. 3. Roo jetted out to the seven-star Burj Al Arab hotel in the United Arab Emirates with Coleen, 24, after sharing an emotional heart-to-heart chat with United boss Sir Alex Ferguson. 4. It followed the England star's dramatic decision to remain with the club last week, having earlier declared he was ready to leave. 5. He and Coleen spent most of yesterday relaxing at the pool bar - laughing and joking as they toasted his birthday with glasses of chilled pink champagne. 6. Coleen, who left baby son Kai at home, looked sensational in a skimpy bikini, while Roo wore shades as he stood chatting with water up to his neck. ----------------------------------------- 10 Text 2 Sir Alex Ferguson implies agent is to blame for the Wayne Rooney saga 'Agents are all the same and some can be very difficult' Gary Neville admits he was lucky not to be sent off By Stuart James at the Britannia Stadium Published Sunday 24 October 2010 21.49 BST 1. Sir Alex Ferguson tonight launched a thinly veiled attack on Paul Stretford. 2. The Manchester United manager implied that Wayne Rooney's agent, and not the player, had been responsible for last week's turbulent events at Old Trafford. 3. Ferguson appeared to suggest that Stretford had made life "difficult" in the talks that eventually led to Rooney agreeing a new five-year contract with the club. 4. "It is always tough at United," Ferguson said. "There are always issues to deal with. When your top players come towards the end of their contracts you have to do something to get them a new one. They are all the same. You have to deal with agents of this world today, which is difficult. The players are no problem. There is no problem with players. Some agents are difficult." 5. Ferguson was speaking after United, without Rooney, beat Stoke City 2-1 with two Javier Hernández goals for a first Premier League away win of the season. 6. The United manager urged his players to use the result as a springboard in their pursuit of Chelsea. 7. "Hopefully we can now kick on," he said. "We have some important games between now and Christmas time and we have to make our mark in the league now." 11 LECTURE 4 (Week 4) Language and politics Key reading: *Mooney, A. & Evans, B. (eds) (2015) Language, society and power. (4th edition) Oxon: Routledge. (Chapter 3) *Simpson, P. & Mayr, A. (2010) Language and power: A resource book for students. London & New York: Routledge (Chapters A10, B10, C10) Key concepts: Politics Ideology Rhetoric Metaphor Simile Rule of three Parallelism Euphemism and dysphemism Legitimation and delegitimation Representation and misrepresentation Aims of session: To look at politics and what this term might mean To examine political speeches To become familiar with linguistic tools which enable analysts to understand how persuasion works and how power relations are build and sustained 12 Exercise 1: How do ideologies emerge? Consider the following example: Christopher Columbus discovered America. Which ‘truth’ does language in the above example represent? For which social group? Is this group powerful? Exercise 2: Metaphors Identify the metaphor in the example below. What is the effect of its use? ‘Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms.’ (Obama, 2009) Exercise 3: Euphemism/dysphemism Identify the euphemism/dysphemism in the examples below. On September the 11th, enemies of freedom committed an act of war against our country’ ‘Fellow citizens, we’ll meet violence with patient justice – assured of the rightness of our cause, and confident of the victories to come’ 13 LECTURE 5 (Week 5) New Media Key reading: *Mooney, A.