AQA English Language B Revision Notes
- Created by: maddie
- Created on: 17-05-13 16:37
LEXIS & SEMANTICS- Word Classes
- Noun- names objects, feelings, attitudes, people or places
Proper e.g. London Abstract e.g. happiness Concrete e.g. table
- Verb- shows actions, event or states of being, feeling or thinking
Dynamic e.g. run Stative e.g. hold Modal Auxilary e.g. would, will, may
- Adjective- modifies nouns
Base e.g. happy Comparative e.g. happier Superlative e.g. Happiest
- Adverb- modifies verbs or other adverbs
e.g. quickly
- Determiner- positioned in front of nouns to add detail/clarity
e.g. the, an
LEXIS & SEMANTICS- Word Classes
- Conjuction- links phrases/words
e.g. and (coordinating), but, although (subordinating)
- Pronoun- replaces nouns/ refers to nouns
1st Person e.g. I (personal), My (possessive), Our (possessive), Myself (reflexive)
2nd Person e.g. You (personal), Your (possessive), Yourself (reflexive)
3rd Person e.g. He (personal), Its (possessive), Theirs (possessive), Themselves (reflexive)
EFFECT: 2nd Person= direct address, 1st Person Plural= inclusive
- Preposition- indicate how something is related to something else
e.g. at, on, into, oppostive, before, during
LEXIS & SEMANTICS- Cohesion
Lexical Cohesion
- Lexical Field- lexical items that are similar in a range of meaning and properties
- Repitition
- Collocations
Grammatical Cohesion
- Conjuctions
e.g. also (addition), in conclusion (summative), similarly (comparative)
- Anaphoric/ Cataphoric Referencing- referencing to an already stated/ not yet stated lexical item
e.g. 'The cat was hot, it had been outside all day' (Anaphoric) 'I believed it. It was the truth' (Cataphoric)
- Ellipsis- the missing out of a word or words in a sentence
e.g. A: 'Where did you go on holiday?' B: 'Portugal'
LEXIS & SEMANTICS- Semantic Relationships
- Synonyms-words with very similar semantic value
e.g. pretty, beautiful, stunning, hot
- Antonym- words with opposite semantic value
e.g. ugly, unattractive (euphemism), butters, hideous (dysphemism)
They have differeing degrees of formality/ dialect/ sociolect
- Connotations- an associated, symbolic meaning relying on culturally shared conventions
e.g. Bachelor --> handsome, rich, desirable
- Figurative language
e.g. Similie, metaphor --> extended metaphor, idioms 'face the music'
- Collocations- pairs of words commonly found together (broken for effect)
e.g. ***** and span, long day
GRAMMAR & SYNTAX- Phrases
- Noun Phrases
e.g. A noisy party
- Verb Phrases
e.g. Coursework becomes history, I may see him
Modal auxilary verbs e.g. may, could, will
- Adjectival Phrases
e.g. He is very clever
- Adverbial Phrases
e.g. It ran quickly
- Active Voice- actor stated
- Passive Voice- actor omitted
GRAMMAR & SYNTAX- Sentence Types
Sentence Types
- Minor- sentence which doesn't contain a verb
- Simple- sentence containing only one clause
- Compound- sentence containing two or more clauses (connencted by coordinating conjunction)
- Complex- sentence containing a main clause with one or more subordinate clause
- Staccato- a succession of short (typically minor) sentences used for dramatic effect
Sentence Function
- Declarative
- Imperitive
- Exclammatory
- Interrogative
PHONETICS & PHONOLOGY
- Onomatopoeia- items that rely on a similarity between sound and meaning
e.g. grrrr (non-lexical) crash (lexical)
- Alliteration
e.g. We walked with want
- Assonance
e.g. Do you like blue?
- Phonological manipulation- ways in which text producers play with sounds and their effects
e.g. homophones
- Prosodic features- non-verbal aspects of speech
e.g. tone, intonation, stress
- Rhyme & Rhythm
PRAGMATICS
Relies on shared understanding between the text producer and receiver to convey an underlying meaning
- Co-operative Principle (Grice)- suggests that all communication is a cooperative act
e.g. Flouting maxims to emphasise a point or convey an underlying meaning
- Diexis- lexical items that point to something (relies on context)
e.g. I am here now
GRAPHOLOGY
Images
- Iconic?- direct picture of the thing being represented- straight forward and simplified
- Symbolic?- draws on connotations and existing cultural models
- Photographs? Illustrations?
- Captions influence a readers response to the image
Typography
- Font size/ style/ colour- depend on text's purpose and implied readership
- e.g. handwriting font seems more personal, calligraphy appears elegeant and formal
Layout/Space
- Is the text dense or broken up e.g. with boxes/ bullets/ bubbles?
- Which part of the text catches the readers eye?
- Use of juxtapositioning?
- does the text adopt layout conventions of another genre e.g. letter/ recipe/ comic *****
SPOKEN DISCOURSE- Spontaneous speech features
Conversation Features:
- Adjacency Pairs
- Initiation-response-feedback
- Topic management- typically set by powerful participant
- Back chanelling
- Discourse marker- signals a shift in conversation e.g 'ok' 'right then'
- Non fluency features- due to spontaneuous nature e.g. fillers, false starts, pauses, repitition
- Hedging- avoids directness and minimise face threatening act
- Ellipsis- omission of words, informal/avoid (unecessary) repitition
- Vague/Fixed Expressions e.g. something, at the end of the day
- Tag questions- speaker support, uncertainty or request of clarification
- Deixis- e.g. 'you' 'now' 'that'
SPOKEN DISCOURSE- Spoken Features
- Dialect- form of language with distinct features of vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation
e.g. English --> Yorkshire, Cockney, Welsh
- Sociolect- a variety of language associated with a particular social group
Socio-economic status- higher social classes commonly use Standard English, Lower class commonly use regional features
Age- teenagers commonly use slang/ colloquial to strengthen their identity in a group
Occupation- jargon/ slang used for economical or informal reasons
- Idiolect- speech style unique to an individual
e.g. volume, tone, expressions, grammatical constructions
- Standard English- most prestigious dialect
- Recieved Pronunciation- most prestigious accent
SPOKEN DISCOURSE- Functions & Influences
Functions of spoken language
- Referential- utterances that provide information
- Expressive- utterances that expresses the speakers feelings
- Transactional- utterances with the main emphasis on getting something done
- Interactional- utterances with the main emphasis on maintaining social realtionships
- Phatic (small talk)- utterances that establish and maintain social relationships e.g. Hello
Influences on spoken language
- Speaker identity- age, gender, group membership, regional orignin, socio-economic status...
- Context- audience (power relationship, social distance...), setting (private, domestic, formal...), topic, purpose
SPOKEN DISCOURSE- Conversation structure & Theorie
Structure of Conversation
- Opening sequence- phatic speech act? Topic marker?
- Turn taking- interruptions? Adjacency pairs? Holding the floor? Verbal/ non verbal cues?
- Initiation-response-feedback
- Back-channel behaviour
- Closing sequence- pre-closing signals? Phatic speech act?
Conversation Theories
- Accomodation- convergence/ divergence/ over- accomodation
- Grice's Maxims (co-operative principle)
- Face theory- positive/ negative politeness
- Gender theories...
SPOKEN DISCOURSE- Prepared Speech
Public Speeches
- Grammar- rhetorical devices, sentence length, first/second person, repitition (cohesion)
- Lexis- simple (monosyllabic), emotive, hyperbole, figurative
- Phonology (they are intended to be heard)- rhythmic, stress, alliteration, intonation
Scripted Dialogue
- Supposed to mimic natural speech
- Lacks non-fluency features, incorrect grammatical construction, interuptions and feedback
- More coherent than natural speech (prepared)
- Deliberate purpose
- Distinctive idiolect
- Narrative discription (novels)
WRITTEN DISCOURSE- Newspapers & Advertisements
Newspapers
- Graphology- banner headline, strap line, byline, standfirst, caption
- Headlines- purpose (convey info, create drama, persuade, humour) features (compression, informal, familiar phrases, pun, phonology, present tense)
- Tabliod- colourful, typographical variation, large photos, dramatic, sensationalised, humorous, bias, simple lexis and sentences, informal, lighthearted
- Broadsheet- restrained graphology, dense text, factual information, formal, polysyllabic words, complex sentences
Advertisements
- Graphology- layout, typographical features, logos, colour
- Form and structure- voice of narrator? style of writing e.g. letter? order in which text appears
- Attitudes- direct address, interactive features e.g. questions/ forms tone e.g. informal/ familiar/ flattering
- Grammer- short sentences, mimic speech, imperitives, punctuation e.g. !!
- Phonology
- Content- stereotypes, humour, intertexuality (reference to another text)
Hidden agenda? Ideology? Pragmatics?
WRITTEN DISCOURSE- Literary Texts
- Purpose- entertain, arouse emotion, influence views, humour, explore character/ setting
- Author's attitude
- Narrative voice- informal? conversational language? distinct voice? intimate relationship with reader? subtle?
- Characters
- Rhetorical Teachniques
- Vocabulary
- Grammar
- Dialogue- mimics natural speech?
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