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Register Theory

The Effect of Context on Text

English Discourse Analysis

Week 2, 2010-11

Rachel Whittaker (Grp 41)

Mick O’Donnell, Laura Hidalgo (Grp 46)

1. Introduction to DA

ReadingsReadings: If something is asked of you in a reading, it should be

handed to me at the next class after its week in the

cronograma. So, please give me the first two readings for

next week.

Linguistic DiaryLinguistic Diary: Write about the way you use language, which

languages you use, and how e.g., informally, spoken/written,

etc.

Summarise 1 working day and 1 weekend day.

(no more than 1 page handwritten for both together)

Analysis of textsAnalysis of texts: in class we will analyse the register of the texts

on p6-8 of the class pack. You need to analyse another 6 of

the texts on pages 9-10, 13-14.

Vocabulary for texts on pages10 is given on p11-12

Send me by email 3 analyses per week.

1.X ADDENUM

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2. Register Theory

1. Background

2. Analysing register in texts

3. Field, Tenor, Mode

4. Intepretation of register features

2.1 Background

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How did we interpret that dialogue?

• Recognizing context

• Knowledge of behaviour in context

• Knowledge of linguistic behaviour in context

2. Register Theory2.1 Background

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• The following two sentences say the same thing, but

say it in ways appropriate to different contexts of

situation:

a) I handed my essay in late because my kids got sick.

b) The reason for the late submission of my essay was

the illness of my children.

• In what context might you use (a).

• In what contexts would you use (b)?

2. Register Theory2.1 Background

What is the role of context?• We notice the role of context when things go wrong:

speakers don’t know the rules –children, foreigners

• To understand language use:

theory of context

-how does context influence text?

-how do we extract context from text?

= ContextContext of of situationsituation (what is going on)

and RegisterRegister (the language associated witha given situation type

2. Register Theory2.1 Background

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Model of register –language in context

Systemic linguistics

British tradition of linguistics via anthropology:

Malinowski, (Professor of Anthropology)

influenced

Firth (historian + African/Indian languages, phonetics

Prof Gen Linguistics London)

taught

Halliday (linguistics + Chinese + English)

Malinowski (20s-30s) studied

Trobriand society (South Seas)

Study of meaning

the sentence in context of utterance.

Necessary: knowledge of the cultural characteristics

reflected in the contexts of situation

embedded in the context of culture.

Meaning = ‘function in context’ (what the utterance does in its context of utterance)

language = 'a mode of action, rather than as a countersign of thought'

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Firth (40s-50s) Context of situation

Malinowski = concrete features of a situation

Firth = abstract schematic construct

"a group of related categories at a different level fromgrammaticalcategories but rather of the same abstract nature"

Implies predictability:

- from context to features of the language

- from text/ dialogue to the situation.

Dimensions of situation according to Firth:

A. The relevant features of participants: persons, personalities

(i) The verbal action of the participants

(ii) The non-verbal action of the participants

B. The relevant objects

C. The effect of the verbal action

Many aspects of the current situation may affect what we say and how we say it,

– Some aspects are just one-off (particular to this particular context),

– Other aspects have a regular (recurrent) relation to the context.

• Those aspects of the context-language co-occurence which are regular (frequently co-occur) can be taken as part of the system of language, and are thus a valuable part of the study of linguistics.

• We can talk about “situation types”, abstract situations which frequently occur and in which some patterns of language use also re-occur.

• Eg., casual conversation, legal language, written language, etc.

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Halliday:

Organised the relevant situational features into a schema of three parts:

Aspects of context that affect language:

FIELD: what the language is being used to talk about

TENOR: the role relationships between the interactants

MODE: the role language is playing in the interaction

Example: a recipe in a cook book

Field: cooking (ingredients and process of preparing food)

Tenor: expert writer to a learner, learner is beneficiary of the advice

Mode: written, prepared. Text often read as part of process of

cooking.

2. Register Theory2.2 Mode

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2. Register Theory2.2 Mode

Situation Types•Casual Conversation

•Telephone conversation

•Email

•Fax

•Radio Show (not talkback)

•Novel

Dimensions of Mode+/- Visual

+/- Aural

Feedback: none, immediate, delayed

2. Register Theory2.2 Mode

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2. Register Theory2.2 Mode

2. Register Theory2.2 Mode

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• Mode: what part the language is playing in the interaction:

– Role: Ancillary (language accompanying nonverbal activity, aswhen we talk as we cook together) or constitutive (the event isdefined by the language, as in a speech).

– Channel: written vs. spoken, or some mix.

• Projected channel: where the actual channel is not the intendedchannel: ‘written to be spoken’ (e.g., a speech), ‘spoken as ifwritten’ (e.g., reciting)

– directionality: uni-directional channel or bi-directional (uni-directional allows only monologue, while a bi-directional channelallows dialogue)

– Media: +/-visual contact (e.g., -visual for a telephoneconversation); use of multimedia (blackboard, powerpoint, etc.)

– Preparation: spontaneous vs. prepared; rushed vs. time forreflection;

2. Register Theory2.2 Mode

• Role: ancillary: more references to the nonverbal environment (“give that to

me”) which can be done using definite reference or demonstratives, while

reflective (constitutive) contexts, entities need to be introduced, often by

indefinite reference (I met a man called John).

• Media: +visual: more references to objects in the visual environment using

demonstatives (that), pronouns (it) and definite reference (the bowl).

• Preparation: in unprepared speech: false starts, ums and errs, spelling and

grammar errors, etc. Less of these in prepared (= revised) text or speech.

• Directionality: monologue in general uses declarative sentences, although

some rhetorical questions, and presence of imperatives in instructions.

Dialogue can use declaratives, interrogatives and imperatives. Higher degree

of ellipsis in dialogue (answers provide just the needed information, e.g.,

Q: Where did you see her? A: At the shops.)

• Channel: written text tends to have higher abstractness (expressing events in

nouns, e.g., “your absence” rather than “You missed the party”, relations in

nouns (“the reason” rather than “because”), etc. In spoken texts, verbs more

likely to express action, while in writing, “be/have/etc.” more common.

2. Register Theory2.2 Mode: Linguistic realisations

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2. Register Theory2.2 Mode: Linguistic realisations