English for Communication studies

What is Communication?

Communication is a distribution of information characterized by:

• Lexical choices
• Relationship
• Persuasion
• Common ground
• Personal needs

It takes place through 3 stages:

• Perception
• Elaboration
• Expression

Communication could be:

• a factual information (data, facts)
• a self statement
• an appeal (what I want you to do)
• a relationship indicator (what I think of you)

John Austin spoke of Pragmatics. It distinguishes between:

• Illocutionary act - The effect that you intend to have on your speakers
• Perlocutionary act - How people interpret what you want to say

Dimensions of Variation

Dimensions of variation are the ways in which language varies according to context and how this leads to the development of specialist vocabularies.

Dimensions of variation can be:

• Geographical
• Historical
• Social

A relevant dimension of variation is that of occupation. It encompasses scientific, religious, legal, political and journalistic language.

British and American English (BrE, AmE)

Because of the influence, especially of American films and television series, as well as the pop music industry, many words that were restricted to AmE are now well understood in BrE.

There are words that are variety-specific but which have an equivalent in the other variety.

And words that have a single sense in world English and have an equivalent word in either AmE or BrE.

What is Communication?

Communication is a distribution of information characterized by:

• lexical choices
• relationship
• persuasion
• common ground
• personal needs

It takes place through 3 stages:

Perception Elaboration Expression

Communication could be:

• a factual information (data, facts)
• a self statement
• an appeal (what I want you to do)
• a relationship indicator (what I think of you)

John Austin spoke of pragmatics

It distinguishes between:

• Illocutionary Act - The effect that you intend to have on your speakers
• Perlocutionary Act - How people interpret what you want to say

Dimensions of Variation

Dimensions of variations are the ways in which language varies according to context and how this leads to the development of specialist vocabularies.

Dimensions of variation can be:

• Geographical
• Historical
• Social

A relevant dimension of variation is that of occupation. It encompasses scientific, religious, legal, political and journalistic language.

British and American English (BrE, AmE)

Because of the influence, especially of American films and television series, as well as the pop music industry, many words that were restricted to AmE are now well understood in BrE.

There are words that are variety-specific but which have an equivalent in the other variety.

And words that have a single sense in World English and have an equivalent word in either AmE or BrE.

British | American

• Torch | Flashlight
• Bin | Trash can
• Trousers | Pants
• Sweet | Candy
• Post | Mail
• Trainees | Sneakers

Antipodean English:

The first immigrants to Australia (18th century) were deported convicts from British jails. Free emigrants from Britain chose to make a new life on the other side of the world. The convict language of the first settlers, drawn from a number of British English dialects, underwent slang.

African English:

Immigration to the African continent from Britain took place with several settlers arriving in the Eastern Cape (from South East England). South African English is in part from native African languages and in part from developments and adaptations of English words. Some of the words from Afrikaans have made their way into World English.

Indian English:

Has developed as a distinctive variety, including many unique vocabulary items. Indian English vocabulary also has items that are composed from one element of English origin and one element from a local language.

Jargon

Refer to specialist vocabularies associated with "occupations" that people engage in as a mode of employment or as a leisure pursuit. Only those inside the particular occupational group have access to its specialist vocabulary.

There are:

• Occupational jargons — medicine have created a jargon that is based on Latin and Greek.
• Sports jargons — used in the game.
• Religious language — has been of interest to linguists and to theologians.

Sub-Cultures

People who regularly associate with each other because they have some characteristic or interest in common.

A sub-culture can be found among young people & teenagers.

• Youth Culture - Comprises adjectives to express approval and disapproval. A small set of verbs expresses interpersonal attitudes or personal reactions. Adopts adverbs to emphasize an adjective.
• Underworld Slang - Special vocabulary used by the criminal sub-culture.
• Rastafarian Culture - The word most associated with Rastafarianism is "dread" meaning "fear of the Lord".
• CB Talk - Citizen Band Radio used by truckers in the USA to communicate potential difficulties on the roads. CB talk developed a series of numerical messages. Is a restricted language to facilitate messages.

Style

We adjust our style to the context and audience of our communication.

• Formal Words - Legal texts. Are words which have an archaic ring. They are usually derived from the classical languages.
• Colloquial and Slang Words - Words that are abbreviated for informal effect.
• Taboo Words - Words that would be extremely offensive if spoken in most contexts.

Speech, Writing and Discourse Type

People tend to write differently from the way that they speak.

• Is composed in real time
• Is informal (use of contractions)
• Is interactive
• Is composed by non-verbal features

• There are no pauses, incomplete words or retractions
• Vocabulary is more formal
• And grammatical structures more complex

Discourse Type

Systematic variation between different kinds of texts.

There are 2 ways of approaching variation according to discourse type: one by referring to features external to the text and one by referring to features internal to the text.

TEXT-EXTERNAL

Draws on features such as the characteristics of the anticipated audience (age, social class), the characteristics of the author, the purpose of the text.

TEXT-INTERNAL

Examines which linguistic features predominate, grammatical features and lexical features.

DISCOURSE TYPE ANALYSIS:

SITUATIONAL CRITERIA

• ADDRESSEE (source, author, time)
• STANDARD (AmE, BrE)
• SUBJECT FIELD (general, specialized)
• DEGREE OF PROFESSIONALISM
• MEDIUM (written, spoken, radio, TV)
• DEGREE OF FORMALITY

INTERACTIONAL CRITERIA

• PARTICIPATION (monologue, dialogue, polylogue)
• SOCIAL ROLES (differences in status)
• SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL CONTACT (proximity, distance)

SEMANTIC AND SYNTACTIC CRITERIA

• MACROSTRUCTURE
• COHERENCE
• GRAMMAR
• VOCABULARY
• GRAMMATICAL CATEGORIES

CORPUS

= is a large, computer-readable databanks of naturally occurring texts.

Analyzes patterns of variation between texts.

BNC - BRITISH NATIONAL CORPUS

= is a very large computer databank of British English.

It is divided into 4 main sections: Two written and two spoken.

WRITTEN ELEMENT

• IMAGINATIVE TEXTS
• INFORMATIVE TEXTS

SPOKEN ELEMENT

• CONVERSATIONAL SPEECH
• TASK-ORIENTED SPEECH

Speech events (services, job interviews, business meetings)

Analysis of a Job Interview!

Genre Perspective

• Purpose
• Setting
• Participants
• Patterns of Social Behaviour

Text-Type Perspective

• Length of Turns
• Speech Act Types and Sequences
• Level of Formality
• Vocabulary
• Pronouns
• Verb Tenses

Style: a combination of 3 components

1. Tenor relationship between participants
2. Mode medium
3. Rhetorical Mode communicative function

Interdiscursivity: mixing discourse types

English and New Media

New media are the products of computer technology and have changed the kind of English used.

• New technologies are key resources for globalisation.

English is the dominant language of the internet and is used as a lingua franca.

Dimensions of Globalisation:

• Economic: global, local
• Technological changes
• Cultural practices

New media technology is changing English. The most obvious indication of change is the introduction of new words.

• blog
• spam
• wifi
• wiki

Are introduced abbreviated forms and visual symbols. Word creation is often achieved: compounding (mouseclick) derivation (prefix, suffix) blends (2 words are welded) cohesion substitution punctuation.

Digitisation: the transfer of physical artefacts, either by scanning, camera or digital recording devices. There are digital repositories, organisations dedicated to the storage and distribution of digitised texts.

Ebooks: the page is formatted as a book page and may be displayed at a PC terminal.

The central feature of web-based writing is the inclusion of hypertext, the electronic links which bring another associated portion of the text immediately into view.

Advertisement

The word "advertisement" derives from the Latin "advertere" meaning "to turn towards".

A/verbs are texts that do their best to get attention.

Adressee (mittente) Message Addresseo (inonzazzato)

An ad is:

• a university prospectus
• a political manifesto
• a film trailer
• a street unit road sign
• a shop name on a carrier bag

Signified (significato)

Concept or object Signifier (significante)

A sound or an image that is attached to a signifier

Types of sign:

• Icon - resembles the object
• Symbol - conventionally associated with the object
• Index - points to the object and its meaning

Printed ads: it's composed by:

• Headline, catch lernen
• Body copy, contains information
• Payoff - conclusion (meccula)
• Brand name- logo or trademark
• Product name

The language of ads is composed by:

• Metaphors
• Short sentences
• Imperatives
• Ambiguity
• Comparatives and superlatives
• Hyperbole
• Colloquial language
• Present tense
• Repetition of brand name
• Humour
• Neologism

Interaction Order in Visual Images

Social interaction can be identified in environments in which two or more individuals are physically in one another's response presence.

• Sense of time (urgency, monochronism)
• Perceptual spaces (visual, auditory, thermal, olfactory)
• Interpersonal distances (intimate, personal, social, public)
• Units of interaction (single, contact, meeting, interview)
• Involvement (dominant, main, side)
• Personal front (gestures, posture, clothes)
• Frontstage and backstage

Semantic Studies

Semiotics offers a box of analytical tools for taking an image apart and tracing how it works in relation to broader systems of meanings.

Focus on the:

• Image itself
• Compositional modality
• Social modality
• Ways in which social difference is created

Anchorage

• Verbal language creates a link between the image and the communicative situation

Relay

• The text is more important and complementary in relation to the image

Power and Involvement Relationship

• Low angle/high angle shots
• Direct look into the eyes of the other persons

Functions

• Conative functions: appeal to emotions to direct behaviour toward conscious or unconscious goals
• Poetic function (aesthetic)
• Referential function (informative)

Rhetoric and Argumentation

Deliberative discourse

• The audience is persuaded to take action in order to achieve a goal (happiness or pleasure)

Epideictic discourse

• Shows what is useful or beautiful as opposed to what is useless or ugly

Corporate Websites: A Multimodal Approach

Functions of corporate websites are:

• Promote products/services
• Educate consumers
• Increase the public's awareness of the company

Websites haven't beginning or end, are composed by short texts with images, icons, videos, and sounds. The language is friendly and personal. Texts can connect you to other texts.

There is interaction between linguistic and visual elements.

• The texts are coherent and short
• There are colours and graphics
• Graphic elements, menus, toolbars

Forms of Television

Genres of television are:

• Drama
• Comedy
• Light entertainment
• Arts
• Documentary
• News
• Current affairs
• Sports

Drama

1. Classic, single play, literary drama
2. Detective and police drama
3. Domestic drama
4. Soap opera

Comedy

1. Live comedy shows

Light Entertainment

Quiz shows, games, variety shows

Arts

Concerts, ballets, opera, theatre productions

Documentaries

To be informative about particular subjects.

News Bulletins

A series of segments which give factual summaries of daily national and international events.