Lucy's English Language blog

Language + Occupation: Rounding off TASK 1. Profession - Doctors and health care specialists Abbreviations produced by Clinical Staff for use within Health Records: Titles RN – Registered Nurse  Dr – Doctor  FY1 and FY2 – Foundation Doctor  StR – Specialty Doctor  AMHP – Approved Mental Health Professional  HCSW – Healthcare Support Worker  OT – Occupational Therapist  CPN – Community Psychiatric Nurse  LDN – Learning Disability Nurse  CT1-3 – Core Trainee  TASK 2. Abbreviations used in the U.S Navy: Consider the reason for the development of these acronyms - why are they used? For what purpose? (Link to theory where relevant and possible) chow hall - T he cafeteria. While the Army and Air Force both officially use the term  DFAC , or  dining facility , most soldiers and Marines refer to it as the " chow hall ." deck -  A floor or platform extending from end to end of a ship, or horizontal p...

Language + Occupation revision Mindmap: questions 1.  In which year did Howard Giles come up with his ‘Accommodation Theory’?  – 1973. 2. Give examples of 3 acronyms that are specific to the police. – SWAT, ABH, BOP. 3. What's CONVERGENCE? - Simplifying language to a lower position worker. 4. What's DIVERGENCE? - Not using specific words to avoid association with a particular social group. 5. Give an example of discourse structure in language and occupation. - Prescription only familiar to doctor. 6. Why is divergence used for people? - It's used to distance themselves. 7. Why is convergence used for people? - It's used to relate to people. 8. In what year did Drew and Heritage come up with their inferential frameworks theory? - 1993. 9. What's the use of acronyms? - To speed up process in high stress jobs and to make things easier in general. 10. When does the lexicon change? - Lexicon changes depending on who is speaking. Wider re...

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/04/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-code-switches-black-english/586723/ It Wasn’t ‘Verbal Blackface.’ AOC Was Code-Switching. - John McWhorter Summary: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was accused of 'verbal blackface' but underneath it all she was just code-switching to relate to the black audience. "O casio-Cortez was engaging in what linguists call code-switching. Few find code-switching surprising when Latinos do it between English and Spanish, alternating between the two languages within a single conversation or even sentence. The concept perhaps seems less familiar when done between dialects of the same language, but this, too, is extremely common." People are outraged at the fact that Ocasio-Cartez is using Black English and she isn't black. People think that it's just "an act" and that she's belittling and disrespecting  the American Black culture. On top of that, people who speak Black English, o...

Language + gender Theories to know:  Robin Lakoff: Deficit Approach (1975) 'Language and Woman's Place 1. Women use precise discrimination's in naming colours. 2. Women avoid swear words 3. Women use hyperbolic or 'empty' adjectives (eg. sweet, lovely...) 4. Women use intensive 'so' 5. Women use tag questions (could be to seek approval or create a dialogue) 6. Rising intonation in answering questions 7. Hedges (To be assertive or polite) 8. Hypercorrect grammar and superpolite forms 9. Women don't tell jokes 10. Women speak in italics Criticisms: Pamela Fishman  The conclusion she drew was very different to Lakoff. She argued that questions are used by females to start conversation and to continue dialogue, she calls this "conversational shitwork". Fishman accepts this is down to male dominance. Males are reluctant to do this "shitwork" due to their dominant role. Zimmerman & West: Dominance Approach (1975) T...

Meanings and Representations: Megan Markle article  - Has Megan Markle changed Britain 's attitude to race and royalty? Audience: I think this article is geared up for adults and the general public, as the subject of the royal wedding is very much open to the public and they are involved in the event. Also, as the article's subject is not only on the royal wedding but also how the royals are becoming more inclusive and modernised. Because of this, adults and people who are generally interested and enthusiastic about the royal wedding may want to read this article to get a taster of what's to come. Genre: A n ewspaper article - Written by The Observer, not someone's opinion. Mode: Multi-modal Purpose: The purpose of the article is to inform the public on the royal wedding and also to show support for both Prince Harry and Megan Markle. Analyse how Text A uses language to create meanings and representations. ( In the opening paragrap...

Improved meanings and representations text: Analyse how text A uses language to create meanings and representations Text A, written by The Metro and Will Giles, is a written, online newspaper article discussing the subject of sport and running. The article informally registers the event of the female Jamacian runner "sprinting" in the wrong lane next to her. The article's purpose is to inform their audience, commuters and people who are interested in sport, about the subject but also the informal tone gives it an entertainment quality. In the first paragraph (or sub heading) Giles uses a complex sentence and triadic structure on contextual information. He mentions the runner's age and amount of medals she has won so far in her career. For example: "...33 years old, has won 19 Olympic... medals..." The statistics used here suggests that Campbell-Brown is athlete who has been in the sporting industry for a while. The reason that these statistics are used...