ENGLISH: TEXT & COMMUNICATION 2
INTRODUCTION
Texts = ubiquitous (everywhere), diverse & complex
analysis:
Starts with noticing things: sustained perception
Not always straightforward but always enriching
You have to stand back from what you know and see it afresh
Step 1: categorization (what kind of text)
step 2: interpretation (what is it saying)
ETYMOLOGY
Text - Literally: thing woven < texere: to weave, to join
- From PIE-root ‘teks-‘: to weave, to make
- Etymologically related to subTLE, architect, TECHnology
Analysis - = resolution of anything complex into simple elements (<-> synthesis)
- From Greek analysis: breaking up, loosening
- From PIE-root ‘leu-‘: to loosen, to divide
TEXT VS DISCOURSE
Text Written communication: single artefact, used more in arts & humanities
Discourse Spoken language: more extensive, used in social sciences
Before: speech (sound) and writing (symbol) = different systems
Now: modern communication (digital + multimodal) = interconnected nature of speech & writing
multimodality: using multiple forms of interaction alongside another (eg. speech, facial expressions, emojis)
Speech: here & now, fleeting
Writing: more removed, spatially distant and permanent
o Digital communication:
We can write in real time
We can have a text disappear immediately after viewing it (eg. snapchat)
We can record speech to exchange with sb far away
We can record speech for permanent display (eg. youtube)
SOCIAL MEDIA
= form of instant publishing instant self-promotion?
= place where the writer’s identity is permanently “under construction”
author ‘curates’: chooses which pictures to use (see Bricoleurs)
HTAT: CHAPTER 1 – 2: GATHERING MATERIALS
Personal language you + your direct environment (larger than you think)
, inventory
Idiolect set of linguistic fingerprints, your unique language habits/expressions
Recording Keeping note of interesting examples of language in everyday life
Archiving Storing the text you found, organizing them
TEXT RELATED QUESTIONS
HTAT: CHAPTER 3: SIZING UP THE JOB
WH-QUESTIONS
What
- What happens in a text: its features forms evidence for your interpretation
- Describing the content
Who
- Speech: who are the participants & what is their relationship affects language choices
- Writing: who are the characters & implied communicators narrative voice
Real writer person who actually wrote the text
Fictionalized writer = narrator: persona that appears to be addressing us from the text
is constructed through conscious or unconscious language choices from author
Real reader person who actually reads the text
fictionalised reader = narratee: persona that appears to be being addressed from the text (constructed)
Where
- Physical setting for conversation or text
- 3 dimensions:
o Geography: particular place eg. warning sign for tsunami’s in California, not Belgium
o Formality: formal context eg. lawyer is married to judge: won’t call her ‘baby’ in court
o Perspective: point of view. eg. standing on top of artwork or looking to it from above
Gestalt psychology: backgrounding (recedes, gaat achteruit) vs foregrounding (stands out)
perspective < Latin perspicere: to look intensively -> origin from visual arts
When
- Time factor: language can change, as well as attitudes
- Text can reveal a lot about the values of a certain era
How
- How the language choices in a text work
o Individually or connected to other elements -> building a pattern
- Interpretation is required: no single right answer
o Different readers see different things (personal background & culture)
Why
- Why is the language as it is and not some other way
INTRODUCTION
Texts = ubiquitous (everywhere), diverse & complex
analysis:
Starts with noticing things: sustained perception
Not always straightforward but always enriching
You have to stand back from what you know and see it afresh
Step 1: categorization (what kind of text)
step 2: interpretation (what is it saying)
ETYMOLOGY
Text - Literally: thing woven < texere: to weave, to join
- From PIE-root ‘teks-‘: to weave, to make
- Etymologically related to subTLE, architect, TECHnology
Analysis - = resolution of anything complex into simple elements (<-> synthesis)
- From Greek analysis: breaking up, loosening
- From PIE-root ‘leu-‘: to loosen, to divide
TEXT VS DISCOURSE
Text Written communication: single artefact, used more in arts & humanities
Discourse Spoken language: more extensive, used in social sciences
Before: speech (sound) and writing (symbol) = different systems
Now: modern communication (digital + multimodal) = interconnected nature of speech & writing
multimodality: using multiple forms of interaction alongside another (eg. speech, facial expressions, emojis)
Speech: here & now, fleeting
Writing: more removed, spatially distant and permanent
o Digital communication:
We can write in real time
We can have a text disappear immediately after viewing it (eg. snapchat)
We can record speech to exchange with sb far away
We can record speech for permanent display (eg. youtube)
SOCIAL MEDIA
= form of instant publishing instant self-promotion?
= place where the writer’s identity is permanently “under construction”
author ‘curates’: chooses which pictures to use (see Bricoleurs)
HTAT: CHAPTER 1 – 2: GATHERING MATERIALS
Personal language you + your direct environment (larger than you think)
, inventory
Idiolect set of linguistic fingerprints, your unique language habits/expressions
Recording Keeping note of interesting examples of language in everyday life
Archiving Storing the text you found, organizing them
TEXT RELATED QUESTIONS
HTAT: CHAPTER 3: SIZING UP THE JOB
WH-QUESTIONS
What
- What happens in a text: its features forms evidence for your interpretation
- Describing the content
Who
- Speech: who are the participants & what is their relationship affects language choices
- Writing: who are the characters & implied communicators narrative voice
Real writer person who actually wrote the text
Fictionalized writer = narrator: persona that appears to be addressing us from the text
is constructed through conscious or unconscious language choices from author
Real reader person who actually reads the text
fictionalised reader = narratee: persona that appears to be being addressed from the text (constructed)
Where
- Physical setting for conversation or text
- 3 dimensions:
o Geography: particular place eg. warning sign for tsunami’s in California, not Belgium
o Formality: formal context eg. lawyer is married to judge: won’t call her ‘baby’ in court
o Perspective: point of view. eg. standing on top of artwork or looking to it from above
Gestalt psychology: backgrounding (recedes, gaat achteruit) vs foregrounding (stands out)
perspective < Latin perspicere: to look intensively -> origin from visual arts
When
- Time factor: language can change, as well as attitudes
- Text can reveal a lot about the values of a certain era
How
- How the language choices in a text work
o Individually or connected to other elements -> building a pattern
- Interpretation is required: no single right answer
o Different readers see different things (personal background & culture)
Why
- Why is the language as it is and not some other way
