mod a specialised discourse

Mod A

Specialised discourse

SPECIALISED LANGUAGE

IT FOCUSES ON HOW SPECIALISTS USE LANGUAGE WITH REFERENCE TO

THEIR SPECIFIC PROFESSIONAL FIELD

SPECIFIC USER SPECIFIC CONTEXT SPECIFIC USE

THESE THREE ELEMENTS MUST WORK TOGETHER IN ORDER TO HAVE A

SPECIFIC LANGUAGE

SPECIAL LANGUAGE

=

SPECIFIC LANGUAGE

=

SPECIALIZED LANGUAGE

ITALIAN:

LINGUE SPECIALI

≠/=

LINGUAGGI SPECIALISTICI

≠/=

LINGUAGGI SETTORIALI

SPECIALISTIC CONCEPTS

TEXTUALIZATION

VERBAL CODE NOVERBAL CODE

SPECIFIC FRENCH TEXT FORMULAS

SPECIFIC ENGLISH TEXT CHARTS

SPECIFIC ITALIAN TEXT GRAPHS

ETC… ETC…

STYLE

MODE FROZEN FORMAL CONSULTATIVE CASUAL

WRITTEN DOCUMENTS : STATUTES

insurances policies BRIEFS

contracts APPELLATE OPINIONS

landlord-tenant

leases

wills

SPOKEN- MARRIAGE CEREMONIES Lawyers’ examinations Lay witnesses’ testimony

COMPOSED INDICTMENTS of witnesses in trials

WITNESSES’ OATHS and depositions

PATTERN INSTRUCTIONS Lawyers’ arguments,

VERDICTS motions in trial

Expert witnesses’

testimony

SPOKEN- LAWYER-CLIENT LOBBY

SPONTANOUS INTERACTION CONFE-

BENCH CONFERENCES RENCES

LAWYER-

LAWYER

CONVERSATION

THE COOPERATIVE PRINCIPLE (Grice 1975)

MAKE YOUR CONVERSATIONAL CONTRIBUTION SUCH AS IS REQUIRED, AT

THE STAGE AT WHICH IT OCCURS, BY THE ACCEPTED PURPOSE OR

DIRECTION OF THE TALK EXCHANGE IN WHICH YOU ARE ENGAGED.

THE 4 MAXIMS:

QUANTITY

1. MAKE YOUR CONTRIBUTION AS INFORMATIVE AS IS REQUIRED (FOR THE CURRENT

PURPOSES OF THE EXCHANGE).

2. DO NOT MAKE YOUR CONTRIBUTION MORE INFORMATIVE THAN IS REQUIRED.

QUALITY TRY TO MAKE YOUR CONTRIBUTION ONE THAT IS TRUE

1. DO NOT SAY WHAT YOU BELIEVE TO BE FALSE

2. DO NOT SAY THAT FOR WHICH YOU LACK ADEQUATE EVIDENCE

RELATION BE RELEVANT

MANNER BE PERSPICUOUS

1. AVOID OBSCURITY OF EXPRESSION

2. AVOID AMBIGUITY

3. BE BRIEF (AVOID UNNECESSARY PROLIXITY)

4. BE ORDERLY

Grice in discourse/conversational analysis and pragmatics

e.g. A: Where’s Bill?

B: There’s a yellow VW outside Sue’s house

>>>>>Maxims of quality and quantity are not respected

Visualise the context<<<<<<<<<derives from our background knowledge

>>>>>>>>>> conversational implicature and inference

CONTEXT

referential function

ADDRESSER MESSAGE ADDRESSEE

---------------------------------------

emotive function poetic function conative function

CONTACT

phatic function

CODE

metalingual function

The pragmatic functions of communication

JAKOBSON (1966)

HALLIDAY (1978)

MODE = channel

FIELD = object of communication

TENOR = relation among participants

Example:

Patient (to the nurse):” Good morning, I must have my tonsils removed.”

Nurse (to the doctor): “ There is a patient for a tonsillectomy.”

Hutchinson&Waters

**

English for Science English for Business and English for

and Tecnology Economics Social Sciences

General English

English for Specific Purposes

English as Foreign Language

English as a Mother Tongue English as a Second Language

English Language Teaching

LANGUAGE TEACHING

LEARNING COMMUNICATION

*ESL può essere diviso allo stesso modo dell’EFL

** EAP =English for Academic Purposes e EOP = English for Occupational Purpose

For Me-

dicine

For Te- chnolog

y

For Eco-

nomics

For Se-

cretary

For Psy-

chology

For

Teachers

EAP EOP EAP EOP EOP EAP

EST EBE ESS

ESP GE

Primary

school

Adult

tertiary

High

school

EFL EMT ESL*

ELT

LEXICAL FEATURES (Gotti 1991)

MONOREFERENTIALITY SYNONYMITY

LACK OF EMOTION METAPHOR

PRECISION AMBIGUITY

TRANSPARENCY IMPRECISION

CONCISENESS REDUNDANCY

CONSERVATISM SEMANTIC

INSTABILITY

MONOREFERENZIALITA’

Monoreferential lexicon

EACH WORD REPRESENTS ITS CONCEPT

THERE IS ONLY THE DENOTATIVE LEVEL

A WORD CANNOT BE REPLACED BY A SYNONYM, BUT BY A PHRASE OR

ITS DEFINITION

VOCABULARY IN ESP

Six categories of vocabulary (Baker -1988):

1. items which express notions general to all specialised disciplines;

2. general language items that are used to describe or comment on technical

processes or functions in preference to other items with the same meaning, for

example occur rather than happen;

3. general language items that have a specialised meaning in one or more

disciplines;

4. specialised items that have different meanings in different disciplines;

5. general language items that have restricted meanings in different disciplines;

6. items with only one meaning.

1 – 2 - 3>>>>>> semi-technical vocabulary : nouns factor, method, function, cycle;

evaluative adjectives relevant, important, interesting; verbs accept, advise, agree,

suggest, occur; collocations make a booking, launch a campaign.

4 – 5 >>>>>> technical vocabulary : bug in computer science; force, acceleration,

energy in physics; stress and strain in mechanics and engineering.

6 >>>>Monoreferential vocabulary >>>>>: bit, byte, carbon, liver

VOCABULARY IN ESP

We have to focus on semi-technical vocabulary in terms of

COLLOCATIONS and LEXICAL PHRASES

COLLOCATION refers to the way words appear together with each other

and describes the company that a word keeps (also defined as LEXICAL

SET) – strong or powerful + argument; present findings rather than show

findings

LEXICAL PHRASES are phrases that always appear in the same form and

are frequently used in certain situations – by pure coincidence, the table

suggests that ...; as shown in the diagram; sales fell sharply.

ex.: The variation of these ratios presents some insight about the financial

intermediary

or .: The variation of these ratios offers some insight into the financial

intermediary

COLLOCATIONS

Newspaper

As a newly qualified teacher at a comprehensive school in Wiltshire, every day

Joe faces the challenge of gaining the respect of a class of 15-year-old. Joe, 26,

admits it is a tough challenge but thinks he is winning the battle. Joe, who

teaches English and media studies and coaches a school football team, will

qualify fully in July, pending the results of his lesson assessments. With this

milestone passed, and the increased financial stability it will bring, Joe will turns

his thoughts to buying his first home

As a newly qualified teacher at a comprehensive school in Wiltshire, every day

Joe faces the challenge of gaining the respect of a class of 15-year-old. Joe, 26,

admits it is a tough challenge but thinks he is winning the battle. Joe, who

teaches English and media studies and coaches a school football team, will

qualify fully in July, pending the results of his lesson assessments. With this

milestone passed, and the increased financial stability it will bring, Joe will

turns his thoughts to buying his first home

A film review “The Interpreter”

She has a gift for languages, which brings her to the UN. She wants to make a

difference. She is idealistic in that single-minded, dedicated manner associated with

freedom fighters. Silvia (Nicole Kidman) remains an enigma. When Tobin Keller (Sean

Penn) begins to investigate her, he is faced with a blank sheet. She is beautiful, blonde,

lissom and lithe. She lives alone, has no lover, rides a Vespa throughout New York and

works all day, providing simultaneous translation for delegates. She has an odd accent,

which, like everything else about her, is difficult to pin down

“The Interpreter”

She has a gift for languages, which brings her to the UN. She wants to make a

difference. She is idealistic in that single-minded, dedicated manner associated with

freedom fighters. Silvia (Nicole Kidman) remains an enigma. When Tobin Keller (Sean

Penn) begins to investigate her, he is faced with a blank sheet. She is beautiful, blonde,

lissom and lithe. She lives alone, has no lover, rides a Vespa throughout New York and

works all day, providing simultaneous translation for delegates. She has an odd accent,

which, like everything else about her, is difficult to pin down.

NON-EMOTIVITA’

Lack of emotion

EMOTION CREATES AMBIGUITY

THE ILLOCUTIONARY FORCE OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOURSE DERIVEs

FROM THE NEUTRAL, BUT LOGIC AND CONSEQUENTIAL, STREAM OF

CONCEPTS

NO EMPHASIS, NO AESTHETICS

DENOTATION ENFORCES THE SEMANTIC VALUE

TRASPARENZA & PRECISIONE

Transparency Accuracy, preciseness

EACH WORD REFERS TO ITS CONCEPT IMMEDIATELY AND

EUPHEMISM CANNOT EXIST

THE SURFACE ANALYSIS ALLOWS YOU TO UNDERSTAND THE

MEANING OF A WORD IMMEDIATELY

THIS CAN BE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF CLASSICAL LEXICON

FOR MEDICINE, THE DECODIFICATION OF SINGLE PARTS OF A

COMPOUND WORD GIVES THE ENTIRE MEANING OF THE WORD

Es. Gastroenterology: gastro=stomach+entero=intestine+logy=study

THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PARTS OF SPECIALISED WORDS IS NOT

UNPREDICTABLE, BUT REFLECTS A PRECISE ALLOCATION OF THE

SINGLE PARTS (AFFIXATION)

Es.:epatite, nevrite (-ite=infiammazione)

magnetite, fluorite(-ite=deriva da)

SINTETICITA’

Conciseness

REDUCE THE EXTENSION OF THE FORMAL SURFACE OF THE TEXT

Es.: it. saldo <saldare, rimborso<rimborsare, utilizzo<utilizzare

fr. informatique<information + automatique

eng. contraception<contraconception

REMOVE PREPOSITIONS BETWEEN NOUNS

Es.: it. estratto conto, analista programmatore

USE ABBREVIATIONS AND/OR ACRONYMS

Es.: ESP,ESL,EFL

TRADIZIONALISMO

Conservatism

IN ORDER TO AVOID AMBIGUITY, THANKS TO THE INTRODUCTION OF

NEOLOGISMS, SPECIAL LANGUAGES MAINTAIN OLD WORDS, EVEN IF

THEY ARE OBSOLETE

Ex. : legal language

whosoever, wherefore, thereof, forthwith

-eth instead of –s for the 3rd

person singular in the present tense

>>>>>>>>>social and political control

NOUNS ADIECTIVES NOUNS ADJECTIVES

Brain cerebral Skin dermal

Chest thoracic Lung pulmonary

Heart cardiac Rib costal

Liver hepatic

IMPRECISIONE/AMBIGUITA’

Inaccuracy/Ambiguity

The tenant will (…)pay for all gas and electric light and power which shall be

consumed or supplied on or to the Property during the tenancy and the amount of

the water rate charged in respect of the Property during the tenancy and the

amount of all charges made for the use of the telephone (if any) on the Property

during the tenancy or a proper proportion of the amount of the rental or other

recurring charges to be assessed to the duration of the tenancy.

RIDONDANZA

Redundancy

WHEN THE PRINCIPLE OF CONCISENESS IS VIOLATED

PLEONASTIC LEXICAL ELEMENTS

WHEN YOU FIND TWO SYNONYMS TOGETHER TO EXPRESS THE SAME

CONCEPT

IT INCREASES THE PERLOCUTIONARY EFFECT OF A TEXT

BINOMIALS ARE TYPICAL STYLE MARKERS OF LEGAL LANGUAGE

Ex.: new and novel; false and untrue; made and signed; terms and conditions

(anglosaxon+latin)

old eng.: will and testament (will for money heritage / testament for estate

heritage)

INSTABILITA’ SEMANTICA

Semantic instability

IT DERIVES FROM CULTURAL INNOVATIONS AND SCIENTIFIC

EVOLUTION IN MANY DISCIPLINES

Ex.: purchase 1297 < from chase= hunting/strength >sthg obtained through force

later >sthg obtained through action Vs heritage

XVI >stgh obtained through payment

It.: atomo=indivisibile/ ipnosi=sonno

METAPHOR

METAPHOR GIVES TRANSPARENCY, CONCISENESS AND PRECISENESS

Transparency through similes and semantic associations

“l’atomo è un sistema solare in miniatura”

Conciseness through schemata and background

“una prova geometrica è una trappola per topi”

Preciseness through loans from common language or other special codes

(CATACHRESIS = to fill in semantic gaps)

“economic depression”

SYNTACTIC FEATURES:

1. OMISSION OF PHRASAL ELEMENTS

2. SYNTHESIS

3. POST-MODIFICATION Vs PRE-MODIFICATION

4. NOMINALISATION

5. LEXICAL DENSITY

6. COMPLEXITY AND LENGTH OF THE SENTENCE

7. VERB TENSES AND PASSIVE FORM

8. DEPERSONALIZATION

OMISSION OF PHRASAL ELEMENTS

Rubber plug method of tubeless repair

1. Remove * puncturing object if still in the tire. (*Tire is not dismounted from

the rim.)

2. Fill * tire with air to 30psi. Dip * probe into * cement, insert it into * injury and

work up and down to lubricate *injury.

3. Grasp each end of * patch. Stretch and roll * center of * patch into *eye of

needle*. Remove * protective covering from both sides of the patch, being

careful not to touch * raw rubber.

4. Dip *perma strip into * cement, making sure that all surfaces are coated.

5. Insert * patch slowly and steadily into * injury, up to * handle. Then turn *

needle 1/4 turn and remove.

6. Without stretching the patch, cut it 1/8" from the tread.

7. Inflate to* proper pressure. * Tire is now ready for service.

(Bricker, Automobile Guide:476; quoted in Trimble 1985)

SYNTHESIS/1

-Prefix/suffix

Workable metal (metal which can be worked)

Reactive force (force which reacts)

The unwanted liquid was thrown away( The liquid which was not wanted

was …)

-Omitting subject and auxiliary

Pieces of iron left in the rain become rusty (piece of iron which are left in the

rain become rusty)

A pilot tube was used to measure the flow through the pipe. The instrument

used was type 4CA

SYNTHESIS/2

-Indirect elements in passive sentence

Compressed air can be used for several purposes (Air which is compressed can

be used for several purposes )

A computer-calculated result (A result which has been calculated by a

computer)

-Present Participle

Tungsten is a metal retaining hardness at red-hat (…which retains…)

A robot controls the moving line (…the line which is moving)

PRE-MODIFICATION

Ex.:

An L-shaped computer room Vs A room for computers which has the shape

of an L.

The driver’s overrapid downhill driving of the bus caused brake failure Vs The

driver drove the bus too rapidly down the hill so the brakes failed)

richness in meaning but risk of ambiguity

Ex.:

1) The rate at which inflation grows

The rate of inflation growth

The inflation growth rate

2) A pentagon is a figure which has five sides

A pentagon is a figure with five sides

A pentagon is a five-sided figure

3) A train which carries passengers

A train for carrying passengers

A passenger-carrying train (or A passenger train)

4) An engine which is driven by diesel oil

An engine driven by diesel oil

A diesel (oil)-driven engine (or A diesel engine)

_____________________________________________________________________

1) A small car factory

a) A small factory for making cars

b) A factory for making small cars

A small car-factory (=A small factory for making cars)

A small-car factory (=A factory for making small cars)

2) Disease causing poor nutrition

a) Poor nutrition that causes disease

b) A disease that causes poor nutrition

3) A man eating shark

a) A shark that eats humans

b) A man who is eating shark meat

4) Three hundred year old trees

a) An indeterminate number of trees that are 300 years old

b) 3 trees that are 100 years old

c) 300 trees that are 1 year old

NOMINALISATION (VERBAL NOUN)

It is the use of verbal nouns usually ending in suffixes such as -ation, -ition, -ity, -

ment, or -ness. The use of nominalisation enables complex information to be

packaged into a phrase that is simple from a grammatical point of view.

Nominalisation leads to a loss of verbal value that is merely reduced to a copula, a

link between complex nominal or adjectival phrases. In turn, these derive from

syntactic transformation of verbs with a strong semantic content.

Ex.:

Discharge of the contents of the tank is effected by a pump (The contents of the

tank are discharged by a pump)

Oscillations are frequency-dependent (…depend on frequency)

Danger is practically non-existent(…does not exist...)

NOMINALISATION

Huddelston (corpus 1971) 3,926 forms of the verb 'to be'

Vs

3,665 occurances of active verbs

Barber (corpus 1985) ' to be' accounts for 45% of all verbs in

the present tense

“A high primary productivity is almost invariably related to a high crop yield. High

productivity can be achieved by ensuring that all the light which falls on the field is

intercepted by the leaves, and that photosynthesis itself is as efficient as possible.

Greater efficiency in photosynthesis could perhaps be achieved by selecting against

photorespiration.” (Chrispeels and Sadava, 1977: 198-9)

more objectified form

use of the verb “to be”

verbs’ weakness

lexical density

A high primary productivity is almost invariably related to a high crop yield. High

productivity can be achieved by ensuring that all the light which falls on the field is

intercepted by the leaves, and that photosynthesis itself is as efficient as possible.

Greater efficiency in photosynthesis could perhaps be achieved by selecting against

photorespiration.

The crop produces a large amountof primary products. You can largely produce

your crop only if the leaves intercept all the light which falls on the field and if

photosynthesis itself is as efficient as possible. Photosynthesis could be more

efficient if you select against photorspiration

Compare these two sentences:

The government banned smoking in public places in 2007. Since then,

fewer people have been admitted to hospital for smoking-related

diseases.

The ban on smoking in public places in 2007 has led to a fall in

hospital admissions for smoking-related diseases.

'the ban on smoking in public places in 2007' is a nominalisation of

the verb phrase 'banned smoking in public places in 2007';

'a fall in hospital admissions for smoking-related diseases' is a

nominalisation of 'fewer people have been admitted to hospital for

smoking-related diseases'.

>Nominalisations convey an objective, impersonal tone.

>Nominalisations can also make the text more concise because they can

pack a great deal of information (lexical density) in a few words.

Nominalizations (examples)

Activity:

Change

We analysed the data from the experiment, and it revealed that children

react when they have too much sugar

in

The analysis of data revealed children’s reaction to excessive sugar intake

1. The temperature of the planet is rising as a result of global warming.

2. The business report indicates that sales figures are down 10% on last

month, which is worrying.

3. A team of scientists analysed the data in the lab before they wrote their

report.

Solution:

1. The rise of the planet's temperature is a result of global warming.

2. The indication of the business report that sales figures are down 10% on

last month is worrying.

3. The analysis of data by a team of scientists in the lab was undertaken

before writing a report.

VICE VERSA (from nominalised to verbal constructions):

1. The production of a mathematical formula by mathematics and physics

experts has explained the modern phenomena of network science.

2. The rapid increase in student numbers is causing concern at the

University. More accommodation may have to be built in order to house

everyone.

3. The failure of local economies to sustain and stimulate economic growth

resulted in foreign intervention.

Solution:

1. Mathematics and physics experts have produced a mathematical

formula which explains the modern phenomena of network science.

2. Student numbers are increasing rapidly from year to year and the

University is becoming concerned that they may need to build more

accommodation in order to house everyone.

3. Local economic strategies failed to sustain and stimulate economic

growth, which resulted in foreign intervention.

LEXICAL DENSITY (content words)

The complete development of the fracture model

requires

an understanding of the bond-rupture reaction

NS VS NS post-modification pre-modification

nominalisation

NOMINALISATION AND LEXICAL DENSITY

1. glass cracks more quickly the harder you press

2. cracks in glass grow faster the more pressure is put on

3. glass crack growth is faster if greater stress is applied

4. the rate of glass crack growth depends on the magnitude of the applied stress

5. glass crack growth rate is associated with applied stress magnitude

1. SEMI-TECHNICAL LEVEL (semi-binding structure)

changing in:

- tenor

- nominalisation

- passive Vs active

- objectivity

5. TECHNICAL LEVEL (highly-binding structure)

COMPLEXITY AND LENGTH OF A SENTENCE/1

Ex.:

This Agreement, effective as of the first day of April 1987, between Dale Johnson

Ryder Warren, an Association organized and existing under the laws of

Switzerland (“Grantor”), its successor and assigns, and DJRW Johnson Ryder

Simpson &C., its successor and assigns (“Member Firm”)…

Ex.:

The tenant will pay for all gas and electric light and power which shall be

consumed on or supplied to the Property during the tenancy and the amount of the

water rate charged in respect of the Property during the tenancy and the amount of

all charges made for the use of the telephone (if any) on the Property during the

tenancy or a proper proportion of the amount of the rental or other recurring

charges to be assessed to the duration of the tenancy.


The surface structure of a sentence is:

NS + VS + NS

Scientific analysis: to follow, to be due to, to suggest, to show

Stative verbs: to consist of, to mean, to become, to depend,

to represent, to form, to request, to require, etc.

Equative BE: the relationship between subject and nominal

part gives an equivalence, that is X=Y


Barber (1962)

27,6 words/sentence

the average of words per sentence in scientific texts

Gustafsson (1975)

55 words/sentence in English legal texts

28 words/sentence in English scientific texts

6-7 words/sentence in English oral texts

TENSES (Barber, 1962 -expository texts-)

1. Present Simple Active 64%

2. Present Simple Passive 25%

3. Future Simple Active 3.7%

4. Present Perfect Passive 1.7%

5. Present Perfect Active 1.4%

6. Past Simple Active 1.2%

7. Past Simple Passive 1.2%

8. Future Simple Passive 0.7%

9. Present Progressive Active 0.6%

10.Imperative 0.3%

THE PASSIVE FORM Ex.:

We can divide 9 by 3 without a remainder

9 can be divided by 3 without a remainder

9 is divisible by 3 without a remainder

The division of 9 by 3 leaves no remainder

Ex.:

The research is based on a precise analysis of data. (no agent mentioned)

Vs

Mr. X has based his research on a precise analysis of data.

DEPERSONALIZATION

In academic writing we avoid uses of ‘you’. So, in the sentence below,

the more informal 'give you' has been replaced with ‘provide’:

Neither qualitative interviews nor focus groups are likely to give you easily

quantifiable, factual or objective data.

Neither qualitative interviews nor focus groups are likely to provide easily

quantifiable, factual or objective data.

As you can see from the data, two-thirds of respondents are satisfied with the

current provision.

As can be seen from the data, two-thirds of respondents are satisfied with the

current provision.

A more concise reformulation is:

The data show that two-thirds of respondents are satisfied with the current

provision.

MODAL AUXILIARIES

MUST/ HAVE TO and SHOULD >>>>>>>>> obligation and logical inference

/suggestion

MAY and MIGHT>>>>>>>>>>>>> permission and probability/suggestion

CAN and COULD >>>>>>>>>>>>ability and possibility

WILL>>>>>>>>>>>>prediction

MODAL AUXILIARIES in PRAGMATICS

MODALITY is a semantic category which reflects sender's attitude towards what

is expressed in the message, or better, different levels of speaker's certainty.

EPISTEMIC VALUE : what is/is not true and/or certain

DYNAMIC VALUE: what someone is/is not able to do

DEONTIC VALUE: what is/is not necessary and/or obligatory

MODAL AUXILIARIES IN ESP

Ex.:

1) If employment increases, then, in short period, the reward per unit in terms of

wage-goods must, in general, decline and profits increase (logical inference).

2) Mr Bush has had to make several big concessions (obligation BUT external, not

endorsed by the speaker).

3) These conclusions should be applied to the kind of economy in which we actually

live (obligation endorsed by the speaker).

4) "Only at this point there can be stable equilibrium" or "This level cannot be

greater than full employment" (possibility/ability = certainty).

Vs

Profits can/could rise by more than 15% this quarter (possibility).

5) The airlines may/might yet opt for a weaker alliance (no certainty).

Vs

Things will get worse over the next three years, as Samsung gradually adds the

capacity to make 500,000 cars a year (certainty).

TEXT (HALLIDAY-HASAN, 1989)

“A text is characterised by coherence (continuità di senso); it hangs together. At any

point after the beginning, what has gone before provides the environment for what

is coming next. This sets up internal expectations; and these are matched up with

the expectations referred to earlier, that listener or reader brings from the external

sources, from the context of situation and of culture.”

TEXTURE (HALLIDAY-HASAN, 1989)

(tessitura)

THESE COHESIVE RELATIONS GIVE TEXTURE TO TEXTS. IF A TEXT HAS

TEXTURE IT IS A REAL TEXT

TEXTURE IS EXPRESSED BY EITHER COHESION MARKERS OR IMPLICIT

SEMANTIC RELATIONS

Ex: Wash and core six cooking apples. Put THEM into a fireproof dish.

Ex: Milk finished! Gone to the supermarket.

Ex: A > The bell is ringing B> I’m in the bathroom

CONDIZIONI DI TESTUALITA’

Affinché un evento comunicativo sia realmente un testo, deve soddisfare le 7 condizioni di

testualità:

COESIONE

COERENZA

INTENZIONALITA’

ACCETTABILITA’

INFORMATIVITA’

SITUAZIONALITA’

INTERTESTUALITA’

COESIONE/1 (G.Brown-G.Yule)

La coesione testuale riguarda invece l’insieme delle risorse linguistiche di superficie a

disposizione di ogni lingua per collegare semanticamente una parte del testo con un’altra.

Lavora sul piano sintattico, poiché può essere lessicale e/o grammaticale ed è costituita da

legami coesivi quali: RELAZIONI COREFERENZIALI (ANAFORA E CATAFORA,

SOSTITUZIONE ED ELLISSI) e CONNETTIVI TESTUALI.

RELAZIONI COREFERENZIALI

a)ESOFORICA: Look at that !

b)ENDOFORICA:

anaforica Look at the sun. It’s going down

quickly.

cataforica It’s going down quickly, the sun.


RELAZIONI COREFERENZIALI (cont.)

c) forma ripetuta: The Prime Minister recorded her

thanks to the Foreign Secretary. The Prime Minister

was most eloquent.

d) forma parzialmente ripetuta: Dr. E.C.R. Reeve

chaired the meeting. Dr. Reeve invited Mr. Philips to

report on the state of the gardens.

e) sostituzione lessicale: Ro’s daughter is ill again. The

child is hardly ever well.

f) forma pronominale: Ro said she would have to take

Sophie to the doctor.

g) forma sostituita: Jules has a birthday next month.

Elspeth has one, too.

h) forma elisa: Jules has a birthday next month.

Elspeth has too.


MARCATORI DI additiva: and, or, furthermore, similarly,

COESIONE o in addition CONNETTIVI

TESTUALI avversativa: but, however, on the other hand,

nevertheless

causale: so, consequently, for this reason, it follows

from this

temporale: then, after that, an hour later, finally, at

last

USE OF CONNECTORS Huddelston et al. (1968)

Connective elements in a corpus of scientific texts:

- deduction : therefore, thus…. 33%

- contrastive : but, however…. 23%

- certainty or doubt : of course, possibly… 16%

- semantic continuity : and, moreover….. 9%

- exemplification : for example, in particular 8%

2. COERENZA

La coerenza testuale non è una proprietà intrinseca del testo ma viene costruita

dall’emittente del testo in collaborazione con il destinatario nel collegamento logico delle

frasi all’interno di un dato contesto di interpretazione. Lavora sul piano semantico e si

realizza grazie ai rapporti di casualità, scopo, successione temporale, alle relazioni di causa-

effetto e all’ordine logico.

Ex: Milk finished! Gone to the supermarket.

A B

Ex: Jack fell down and broke his head > A causes B

Vs Jack fell down and drove his head > A ? B

3. INTENZIONALTA’

Si riferisce a tutti i mezzi utilizzati da chi produce il testo per perseguire e realizzare le

proprie intenzioni >>>>>forza illocutiva dell’emittente.

Ex: A > The bell is ringing B> I’m in the bathroom

4. ACCETTABILITA’

Si riferisce alla disponibilità da parte del ricevente a partecipare allo scambio comunicativo e

a perseguire un fine comune>>>>>> effetto perlocutivo sul destinatario.

Nell’esempio:

A > The bell is ringing B> I’m in the bathroom

5. INFORMATIVITA’

Si riferisce al grado di conoscenza /attesa, alle aspettative relative ai contenuti del testo

>>>>>>>> testo inteso come messaggio: le informazioni contenute nel messaggio sono note,

condivise dall’emittente e dal destinatario?

Ex: Call us before you dig. You may not be able to afterwards.

6. SITUAZIONALITA’

Si riferisce all’insieme dei fattori che rendono rilevante un testo per una determinata

situazione:

Ex: For he’s a jolly good fellow

And so say all of us

>>>>>relazione coreferenziale esoforica che soddisfa la condizione di situazionalità (festa)

7. INTERTESTUALITA’

Si riferisce sia alla produzione che alla ricezione di un testo, processi che utilizzano i rapporti

di interdipendenza con altri testi già noti>>>>>>> l’uso delle formule.

Ex: For he’s a jolly good fellow

And so say all of us

PRINCIPI REGOLATIVI DELLA TESTUALITA’

Sono legati alle massime di Grice, in quanto il loro compito è quello di rendere le relazioni

testuali, e quindi il testo, EFFICIENTE, EFFICACE e APPROPRIATO.

EFFICIENZA

EFFETTIVITA’

APPROPRIATEZZA

1. EFFICIENZA

L’evento comunicativo (il TESTO) deve richiedere il minimo sforzo/impegno da parte dei

partecipanti all’evento stesso>>>>>>>> la massima di qualità/quantità.

2. EFFETTIVITA’

Il testo deve raggiungere lo scopo della comunicazione >>>>>>>> la massima di

qualità/rilevanza.

3. APPROPRIATEZZA

Il testo deve riflettere una composizione armonica tra contenuto e aspetti testuali >>>>> la

massima di qualità/maniera.

THEMATIC ORGANIZATION OF A SENTENCE

A TEXT IS BUILT UP ACCORDING TO A PROGRESSIVE SEQUENCE BETWEEN

THE THEMATIC AND RHEMATIC PARTS OF DISCOURSE.

THEME IS ALWAYS THE LEFT COMPONENT OF A SENTENCE, THE BEGINNING

OF AN UTTERANCE. IT IS ALSO THE KNOWN PART OF DISCOURSE.

RHEME IS WHATEVER COMES AFTER THE THEME AND IT IS RELATED TO IT

BECAUSE IT HAS THE FUNCTION OF EXPLAINING IT. IT IS ALSO THE

UNKNOWN PART OF DISCOURSE.

THEMATIC ORGANIZATION

Ex: 1

“ALL SUBSTANCES ARE DIVIDED INTO TWO CLASSES. THE FIRST CLASS IS

ABOUT ELEMENTARY SUBSTANCES.”

T1

R1

T2

R2

Ex. 2

“I have called this book the General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. I have

placed the emphasis on the prefix general to contrast the character of my arguments and

conclusions with those of the classical theory. I have become accustomed, perhaps

perpetrating a solecism, to include in ‘the classical school’ the followers of Ricardo, including

(for example) J. Stuart Mill, Marshall, Edgeworth and Prof. Pigou. I shall argue that the

postulates of the classical theory are applicable to a special case only and not to the general

case, the situation which it assumes being a limiting point of the possible positions of

equilibrium.”

T1

R1

T1

R2

T1

R3

T1

R4

THEMATIC ORGANIZATION

Task : draw a diagram for each text.

1) Jack goes up the beanstalk again. He comes to the giant’s house and he sees the giant’s wife

2) Mr. William Serby who died aged 85 on September 20 was County Treasurer to Bukinghamshire County Council

from 1929 to 1961.

He was commissioned in the Queen’s (R.W. Surrey Regiment) in 1915 and served in France until he was wounded in

1916. From 1917 to 1919 he served as liaison officer with the French and Russian forces in the North Russian

Expeditionary Force.

In 1926 he was appointed County Accounter to the Cornwall C.C.

During the Second World War he commended the Home Guard in Wendover and in later years was actively concerned

with the work of the RNIB, the Oxford Diocesan Board of Finance, the Bucks Historic Churches Trust and in many

local organisations in Wendover.

In 1926 he married Jean Durns and they had one son and two daughters.

3)Rocky slowly got up from the mat, planning his escape. He hesitated a moment and thought. Things were not going

well. What bothered him most was being held, especially since the charge against him had been weak. He considered his

present situation. The lock that held him was strong. He thought he could break it.

THEMATIC PROGRESSION AND ORGANIZATION

IN THE RETHORICAL ORGANIZATION OF DISCOURSE, THE LOGICAL AND

HIERACHICAL SEQUENCE OF INFORMATION IS REFLECTED INTO THE

RETHORICAL UNITS, SUCH AS: SECTIONS, CHAPTERS, PARAGRAPHS, ETC…

Ex.: “There are three basic ways to improve a system’s performance: make it carry more

data at the same time, make it run faster, or make it more efficient”

R1/a

T1 R1 R1/b

R1/c

3 following paragraphs titled:

1. Improving data capacity (R1/a)

2. Improving processing speed (R1/b)

3. Improving efficiency (R1/c)

TEXTUAL FEATURES

LEXICAL REPETITION

ANAPHORIC REFERENCE

STANDARDIZATION

TEXTUAL DOMINANCE (dominanza testuale)

TEXTUAL GENRES (genere testuale)

STANDARDIZATION/1

STRUCTURES OF DIFFERENT TEXTUAL GENRES (Van Dijk - 1977)

Scientific article Psychology Economics

INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION ANALYSIS

PROBLEM THEORY PREDICTION

SOLUTION PROBLEM PROPOSAL

CONCLUSION EXPERIMENT

COMMENT

CONCLUSION

STANDARDIZATION/2

BUSINESS LETTER

a) THE HEADING : letterhead, date line

b) THE OPENING : inside address, the attention line, the salutation

c) THE BODY : the subject matter, the message

d) THE CLOSING : the complimentary closing, the company signature, the writer’s

signature, the writer’s identification, reference initials, mailing notation (enclosures),

carbon copy notation, postscripts

>>>>>>>PERSUASIVE WRITING

>>>>>>>RAPID READING

>>>>>>>MESSAGE COMPRESSED

>>>>>>>IMMEDIATE AND UNMISTAKABLE

TEXTUAL DOMINANCE (dominanza testuale) from Cristina Lavinio – 1998

TESTO ARGOMENTATIVO

SCOPO: PERSUASIONE/DIMOSTRAZIONE DELLA VALIDITA’ DI UNA TESI

TESI

DESTINATARIO: IDENTIFICAZIONE DELLE OPINIONI CONDIVISE, CHE SI POSSONO PRESUPPORRE

A SOSTEGNO DELLA TESI (es.: dati, esempi, autorità)

ARGOMENTI

CONTRARI(> confutazione)

inizio

COLLOCAZIONE DELLA TESI NEL TESTO centro

fine

dai principali ai secondari

ORDINE NELLA DISPOSIZIONE DEGLI ARGOMENTI dai secondari ai principali (climax)

misto

SEQUENZIALITA’

CONNESSIONE E

GERARCHIZZAZIONE DEGLI

ARGOMENTI MEDIANTE logici e di causa-effetto ( dato che, dunque..)

CONNETTIVI avversativi e concessivi ( ma, anzi, eppure..)

metatestuali ( per prima cosa, infine…)

MODALITA’ DI ENUNCIAZIONE SOGGETTIVA 1a ps., lingua comune, molte figure retoriche

OGGETTIVA 3a ps., lingua speciale, neutra, citazioni, bibliog.

TEXTUAL DOMINANCE (dominanza testuale) from Cristina Lavinio – 1998

TESTO ESPOSITIVO

spiegazione / illustrazione - esposizione analitica

SCOPO di un ARGOMENTO o

memorizzazione / evidenziazioni delle - esposizione sintetica TEMA DI DISCORSO

principali informazioni

DESTINATARIO: individuazione della sua enciclopedia

delle sue conoscenze pregresse sull’argomento

ARGOMENTO: delimitato

SELEZIONE DELLE INFORMAZIONI

nella disposizione delle informazioni

ORDINE ed eventuale suddivisione accurata di vari blocchi informativi

con segnalazioni metatestuali delle partizioni di testo

lingua comune (ricorrendo il meno possibile a parole di

bassa frequenza d’uso, a tecnicismi, ecc.)

MODALITA’ ENUNCIATIVA

prevalentemente OGGETTIVA lingua speciale. ma con terminologia diluita entro

riformulazioni e parafrasi (per lo più segnalate da indicatori

come cioè, o meglio, più precisamente), con numerosi esempi

e definizioni

ARGUMENTATION & RHETORIC AS ARTS OF PERSUASION

Persuasion begins very early in life, well before the point when infant

behaviour starts to diverge into different cultures and languages. A

baby’s first sounds are instinctive but soon merge into deliberate

strategies to change the behaviour and attitude of others.

Persuasion, then, is of great academic interest in the study of any

language as it is one of language’s major use. All human beings have a

vested interest in promoting our own wishes and views – hopefully in

the belief that they are of benefit to others as well as ourselves – and in

understanding how others are trying to influence us, and thus in

resisting manipulation.

RHETORICAL STYLES AND STRATEGIES

Aristotle’s The Art of Rhetoric distinguishes three strategies of persuasion:

Reasoned proof (logos)

Emotional appeal (pathos)

Appeal to the good reputation of the speaker (ethos)

Broadsheet newspapers, such as The Guardian, The New York Times, The

Washington Post, typically appeal to reason while tabloid such as The Sun,

appeal to emotion. Advertisements using endorsement, whether by a

celebrity or an authority figure, use ethos working on the principle that

people will transfer their trust or admiration for the speaker to the product

itself.

Rhetorical Question

Winston Churchill, in one of his wartime speeches delivered in the House of

Common in May 1940, said:

“You ask, what is our aim? I can answer that in one word: victory”

Rhetorical Repetition

Martin Luther King addressed this speech to Civil Rights marchers in

1963:

“This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be

able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful

symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together,

to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for

freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day”

ADVERTISING

“New year, New Look – Dressing to Impress”

ADVERTISING & PROPAGANDA

PERSONAL PERSUASION

Dialogue 1 :A mother discover her six-year-old son, Bruce, climbing on the

kitchen counter to take packets of jelly at 9.30 a.m.

Bruce: (replying) Well, see, they’re gonna be for this afternoon in the army

[a game]. I’m getting ready for then ‘cause when Liz gets home she needs a

little snack ‘cause she always says, ‘I’m hungry’. So, this is gonna be for

evening snack.

Mother: So it all has to be made now?

Bruce: We’ll make the jello first ‘cause it takes longer and we can cook it

shorter. [meaning that jello takes longer to congeal, but a shorter time than

popcorn to cook].

Mother: OK (mother tears open jello package to begin the preparation)

Bruce: Let me taste it.

Mother: Why?

Bruce: I’ve never tasted peach flavouring before. I just want to taste a little

bit and I’m not gonna get a big chunk.

Mother: OK.

Dialogue 2: Job interview

Interviewer: Uh, why did you decide to leave something that seemed to be –

you seemed to be pretty well equipped for and go on into something else, -

uh?

Applicant: Well, even though I enjoyed optometry, I’ve been interested in

health service administration field for quite a bit longer than that. Ah, as

my resume says, I’ve worked in the hospital as a nursing assistant and I’d

say that’s about when I decided that I was interested in health service

administration . So the optometric work was kind of a fill-in type thing until

I could get into graduate school and work directly in the administration

field.

CONTRASTIVE RHETORIC

Kaplan’ s diagram

Kaplan (1966): "superficially, the movement of the various paragraphs [in different languages] … may be graphically represented"

TEXTUAL GENRES (generi testuali)

GENRE THEORY

A genre comprises a class of communicative events, the members of

which share some set of communicative purposes. These purposes are

recognized by the expert members of the parent discourse community,

and thereby constitute the rationale for the genre. This rationale

shapes the schematic structure of the discourse and influences and

constrains choice of content and style. Communicative purpose is

both a privileged criterion and one that operates to keep the scope of

a genre as here conceived narrowly focused on comparable rhetorical

action. In addition to purpose, exemplars of a genre exhibit various

patterns of similarity in terms of structure, style, content and

intended audience. If all high probability expectations are realized,

the exemplar will be viewed as prototypical by the parent discourse

community. (Swales, 1990: 58. My italics)

GENRE THEORY framework

Communicative purpose

Discourse community

Schematic structure

Rhetorical action

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TEXTUAL GENRES (generi testuali) from Cristina Lavinio – 1998

GENERI E FORME TESTUALI A

DOMINANZA

ARGOMENTATIVA ESPOSITIVA

ANALITICA SINTETICA

saggio scientifico manuale abstract

articolo scientifico saggio divulgativo sommario

recensione critica articolo divulgativ o recensione informativa

commento definizione scheda

tesi di laurea relazione appunti

tesina lezione ……………

relazione a un convegno

conferenza

SPEECH COMMUNITIES Vs DISCOURSE COMMUNITY

Hymes: “A speech community is defined, tautologically but radically, as a community

sharing knowledge of rules for the conduct and interpretation of speech. Such

sharing comprises knowledge of at least one form of speech, and knowledge also of

its patterns of use. Both conditions are necessary.” (1974)

Vs

Swales: 1) A discourse community has a broadly agreed set of common public goals.

2) A discourse community has mechanisms of intercommunication among its

members.

3) A discourse community uses its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide

information and feedback.

4) A discourse community utilizes and hence possesses one or more genres in the

communicative furtherance or its aims.

5) In addition to owing genres, a discourse community has acquired some specific

lexis.

6) A discourse community has a threshold level of members with a suitable degree

of relevant content and discoursal expertise. (1990)

TEXT SCHEMATIC STRUCTURE

ANALYZING ACADEMIC TEXTS, SWALES NOTED THAT THERE IS A REGULAR

PATTERN OF ‘MOVES’ (OR MACROACTS) AND ‘STEPS’ (OR SUBMOVES OR

MICROACTS) THAT APPEAR IN A CERTAIN ORDER IN THE MAJORITY OF

INTRODUCTIONS INVESTIGATED.

A MOVE IS A UNIT THAT RELATES BOTH TO THE WRITER’S PURPOSE AND TO

THE CONTENT THAT S/HE WISHES TO COMMUNICATE.

A STEP IS A LOWER LEVEL TEXT UNIT THAN THE MOVE THAT PROVIDES A

DETAILED PERSPECTIVE ON THE OPTIONS OPEN TO THE WRITER IN SETTING

OUT THE MOVES IN THE INTRODUCTION.

STRUCTURE OF ORAL TEXTS Ex : DOCTOR-PATIENT INTERACTION (Candlin et al. 1976)

MACROACTS

Routine phase: greetings

FIRST PHASE : EXPLANATION OF DESEASES(p>>>d)

SECOND PHASE: VISITING (d>>>>p) AND (p>>>d)

THIRD PHASE: DIAGNOSIS (d>>>>p)

FOURTH PHASE: SUGGESTIONS AND CURE

Routine phase: thanks and greetings

STRUCTURE OF WRITTEN TEXTS Ex.: DISCOURSE ORGANIZATION OF SPECIALIZED ARTICLES

STEP 1

MOVE 1 statement, inference

Problem STEP 2

PHASE 1

Introduction MOVE 2 STEP 1

Information

STEP 2

MOVE 1

PLAN PHASE 2 Hypothesis Article Proposals of

Letter Solution MOVE 2

Dissertation MOVE 3

PHASE 3

Analysis of ……………….

Proposals ……………….

PHASE 4

Conclusion ……………...

THE LINEAR ARGUMENTATIVE PROCESS

ANALYSIS OF PREVIOUS TEXTS OR HYPOTHESIS AND OBSERVATION OF

DATA (PHASE D)

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION (PHASE P)

PROPOSAL OF SOLUTION (PHASE S)

LOGIC ASSERTATIONS (PHASE A)

+ SUPPORTING WARRANTS (PHASE W)

CONCLUSION (PHASE C)

D P S A C

W

“….the facts <speak for themselves>…” Swales 1986

mod a specialised discourse

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