Haven’t forgotten..

about blogging today.

However, it’s more likely to be tomorrow AM, as I’ve had to take care of quite a few things today.

Stay tuned

Blogging Tomorrow

Well done for being here today.

Tomorrow I will put on:

1. THE ESSENTIAL 20 marker post.
2. Further guidance for the 40 and 60 markers.
3. Guidance for C3

Stay tuned.

2A - Class response to Text A (Conduct Literature)

A bad example of a paragraph:

In text A, there is a clear attitude that women do not matter, which can be seen in the declarative, ‘woman who in her animalistic fashion wreaks havoc’. Here, the low-frequency adjective ‘animalistic and abstract noun ‘havoc’ show that women are seen as trouble causers.

No comparisons x

Doesn’t mention change x

Instead, do this:

Demonstrating a drastic change in attitudes toward women over time, there is a clear attitude in text A that women do not matter, which can be seen in the declarative, ‘woman who in her animalistic fashion wreaks havoc’. Here, the low-frequency adjective ‘animalistic and abstract noun ‘havoc’ show that women were seen as little more than animals, and evidently were oppressed by men at the time. This is in total contrast to text C which portrays all genders as ‘equal in all regards’. Here, the determiner ‘all’ expresses the modern view that it is no longer socially acceptable to discriminate against people based on gender due to the advent of PC in the 20^th century.

Mentions change

Makes a detailed comparison (they don't always have to be this detailed)

Text A analysis, done by the class. Look at how CONCISE the paragraphs are. Look at how the types of comparisons VARY. Look at how it begins by addressing CONVENTIONS, then moves on to ATTITUDES, PURPOSES etc.

To begin, a clear change on convention is clear through the archaic wording of the title of the text, ‘A mother’s blessing’, within which the abstract noun ‘blessing’ implies that the will of the parent is the most important factor in a person choosing their husband or wife. This is totally different to what we would expect in a modern context where we would expect any element of choice to be given to the individual themselves.

Additionally, a clear convention to promote virtues and respect within the individual can be seen where it says, ‘if hee want witte, discretion and policy he is unfit to marrie any woman’. Here, the abstract nouns ‘discretion’, ‘witte’ and ‘policy’ are used to promote standards for the reader, ensuring that they do not enter into a relationship selfishly, which differs from attitudes seen in text C which promote the self as the most important issue.

The way in which the text is structure demonstrates a change in convention over time regarding the way texts such as these are actually constructed and edited. Being from a pre-standardised era, there is evidence of long drawn out complex sentences such as, ‘If a man have not witte…marrie any woman.’ A modern reader would find this a particularly difficult text to read through due to the amount of additional subclauses within the sentence, which make it difficult to follow and rationalise. In a modern guide such as this, the reader would be more likely to expect the text to be organised into sections based on different subtopics, and for the sentences to be mainly simple with a gentle imperative tone.

An underlying attitude is present that men are ultimately in control over women, which demonstrates a drastic change from modern norms. This can be seen in the phrase ‘to chuse him one’, in which the dynamic verb ‘chuse’ clearly shows how women are seen as being there to satisfy men’s need when it suits them. This can also be seen when it says a man should ‘chuse a Godly wife’, where the low-frequency adjective ‘Godly’ implies that women are not only powerless to men, but are also expected to be seen as holy and faultless at all times too.

Perhaps surprisingly, there is an unexpected feminist attitude present where it says, ‘if she has no friends…leave her to him that can’. Here, the conditional conjunction ‘if’ demonstrates that men should be more thoughtful towards women, whereas the dynamic verb ‘leave’ suggests men should actually refrain from bothering a woman if he cannot offer her emotional security. This is different to Text B which implies that finding a life partner is a matter of great urgency.

Again, surprisingly, the tone employed by the female writer is perhaps unexpected of an era where women were seen as being less powerful and significant than their male counterparts. The archaic verb ‘methinks’ to begin the text sounds very opinionated, whereas the imperative phrase ‘leave her be’ once more appears to be giving direct instructions to the man with regards to how he should treat a woman. This would be unexpected for the time as, often, women were simply expected to be homemakers and housewives – so it seems strange that a woman has such power over a man, albeit her son.

Clearly, the writer of this text sees is as being particularly important to relate their writing to God, implying that God’s view of any future relationship is the most important factor. This can be seen in the phrase, ‘if he served GOD, he would obey GOD.’ Here, the verbs ‘serve’ and ‘obey’ give clear instruction to the son, instructing him to reserve God as his most important standard and judge for the remainder of his life. This contrasts Text C which portrays the happiness of the individual as the most important factor.

2B - How to write an analytical paragraph

Intro –

Even from a brief reading of the texts, it is clear that the relationship between the writer and audience of Facebook statuses will drastically affect the language chosen by the composer of the text.

Due to the fact that texts 2 and 6 are written on personal Facebook pages, pragmatic understanding between the writer and receiver plays a big part in the language chosen. In Text 2, the writer uses abbreviations such as ‘ikr’ (meaning ‘I know right’) and clippings of verbs such as ‘hav’ and movin’ which reflect a degree of informality within the text. This shows that the writer and receiver are comfortable with each other and do not expect a high degree of formality within their communication. We also see the writer use abbreviations such as the conjunction ‘cos’ instead of ‘because’ and a lack of punctuation in the contraction ‘ill’. Arguably, this is an indicator that the writer sees social media as a multimodal form of communication and so is using features of spoken language in his writing. In text 6, we see slightly different features as the writer uses exaggerated formality to create humour through the formal salutation ‘dear’ and religious proper non ‘Lord’. The receivers of this status would immediately realise, through shared understanding, that the writer was not being serious. Additionally, the writer attempts to replace the prosodic features lost through CMC by using emojis ‘😊’ to show how happy she is, and non standard punctuation ‘!!!!’ after the adjective ‘brilliant’ to show that she is in a good mood. If it was not for this, her final statement ‘please don’t let my husband be home…’ could sound quite sinister. The use of abbreviations in text 2 would be looked down upon by prescriptivists such as broadcaster John Humphrys who says that CMC is ‘doing to the English language what Genghis Kahn did to Asia.’ I would disagree with this attitude, however, as the message is clearly understood between sender and receiver due to shared understanding, and so is merely improving the efficiency of their message rather than ruining it.

Bringing text together through context (AO3)

Analyse examples

Explain why this is being done in context

2B - CMC Terms

CMC = Computer mediated communication

😊 etc = emojis or emoticons

@, xx or anything else which uses a symbol to convey meaning = logograms

2 instead of ‘too’, 4 instead of ‘for’ etc = number homophones

C instead of ‘see’, u instead of ‘you’ etc = letter homophones

Cul8r = rebus abbreviation (a mix of numbers and letters to spell a phrase)

www.youtube.com = hyperlink

#forthelolz = hashtag

Mornin, borin = clippings

Gonna, Shoulda etc = elision

‘Just wanted to say…’ = elliptical expression (missing first person pronoun at the start of utterance)

Prosodic features (these are features of speech like volume, pace and tone which are missing in CMC, so users will often try to recreate them in other ways)

Paralinguistic features (these are things like facial expressions, body language etc which are missing in CMC and so users will try to replace these in other ways too like through the use of emojis, caps etc)

‘?!?!?!?!’ = non-standard punctuation

Chalfordians = neologism

Hahahahahaha = phonetic spelling of laughter

Also look out for uses of sociolect, idiolect, Americanisms, formality to create humour etc.

2B - Do not panic - READ THIS

I know that I have seen many of you over the last two days to go over this in person, but I will put it on here too to encourage you.

Section B is SIMPLE.

You will be given data from a particular type of CMC (computer mediated communication). Usually, there are about 6-8 different examples. Do the following things:

1. Group them into about 6 different paragraphs based on things like (formal messages, very informal messages, spam messages, messages between close family, messages to large groups of people, messages which have a specific purpose or give orders).

2. Write an intro which points out that the language people use on this form of CMC will differ depending on who they are messaging and why they are sending a message.

3. Write six analytical paragraphs where you point out what these particular texts have in common, analyse around 3-5 language features which are present because of this particular context, and explain why it is happening. Use terms where possible.

4. Write two paragraphs explaining how YOUR experience of this CMC further proves that language changes depending on the audience/context (eg, how does your language on Facebook differ depending on whether you are speaking to a close friend or a work colleague?)

5. At about three points in the entire essay, place a quote in there from either a descriptivist (like Crystal) or a prescriptivist (Like John Humphrys). State what they would think of this particular use of language and respond by saying whether or not you agree with them.

Here is an example paragraph:

Texts 1 and 4 are both texts sent between close friends, and the bond shared between the users of CMC here will have a great effect on the language used due to shared understanding. In text 1, the sender uses the rebus abbreviate 'cul8r' when signing off, which will clearly be understood as they are close friends who will be used to communicating through text speak. Abbreviations like this were originally created to save time and money, but as David Crystal states are now mainly used 'to look cool'. I would agree here as the text is clearly gossiping and in no particular rush, and modern texters are not limited by character limits on texts. Similarly in text 4, the sender uses a letter homophone and phonetic spelling in the interrogative 'y wud i?' Once more, there is no advantage gained by saved time here, and so it is clearly used simply as part of a youth sociolect.

2A - Make this point!!

In many of the older texts we have looked at for the 60 marker, they have been full of long complex sentences with lots of sub-clauses (very difficult and confusing to read). Often, they will also use semi-colons and colons to extend the sentences.

This is a common occurrence, and you SHOULD be making a point about it in your essay. If it is relevant, you should include a similar paragraph to the one below...

"Reflecting a distinctly different type of audience, the text is largely composed of long, complex sentences, with many additional sub-clauses which make it extremely difficult to read. An example of this is….”example”. In a modern context, it would be expected that a text such as this would be organised into much more frequent simple and compound sentences, with complex sentences using very few sub-clauses. Not only is this because standardisation has imposed grammatical rules on sentence structure, but also a modern audience has far more demands on their time and attention, and require adverts/posters such as this to be far easier to read in a hurry."

2B Theory (Crystal)

The amount of theory you have to remember for this section is NOTHING compared to the last exam.

Essentially what you need to do is try to add some relevant quotes into your analysis of the data when you think it is important, then memorise a really good example paragraph to put at the end of your essay.

David Crystal is a fantastic source, as he is one of the world's experts on this subject. When David Crystal visited, I made a PPT outlining all kinds of quotes he made about CMC communication.

Here is the PPT. You will see LOTS of useful quotes that you can use as you analyse your data.

Obviously the 'language and the internet' slides are the most important.

2B - So what do we do?

Really, this is a component which should NOT have you panicking.

You will be given a small set of data from the genre of 21st century English.

This could be from:

SMS
Twitter
Facebook
Snapchat
Instagram
Email

All the questions will ask you to do will be something like 'analyse how the context of this data affects language use in the 21st century'.

You already know ALL of this! You really do. All you have to do is imagine you are explaining EVERYTHING to a 95 year old, and you can't go far wrong (ie, just be prepared to explain what the heck is going on as if you are talking to someone who has never seen a text message or abbreviation in their life.)

Got it?

Key terms:

If you see any of these, you'll need to point them out and explain why and how they are being used. Don't just assume that you only need to mention them once. You might make a point about how a smiley face to a friend shows informality or flirting, whereas you might later make another point about how inappropriate a sad face is when used in a formal situation.

*Abbreviations
*Acronyms
*Initialisms
*Emojis/Emoticons
*Sociolect
*Elliptical expression
*Elision
*Logograms (when a symbol is used to carry meaning, like '+' or '@'
*Hyperlinks
*Hashtags
*Retweets
*Tagged friends
*Mentions
*Like/Dislikes

Again, none of this should scare you. This is the sort of language you use EVERY DAY. You just need to switch your brains on, look at the contexts, and ensure that you are fully explaining WHY these things are happening.


Grouping and Planning


Answering this question really is EASY.

The Sample Assessment material showed 8 SMS messages and expects you to write about 4-5 paragraphs.

Whilst we don't know that YOUR data will feature SMS messages, we can assume it will be a similar length.

So, just try to GROUP the data into about 4-5 paragraphs. Don't just blindly work your way through it one text at a time This won't show off your skills. See if any of the texts/tweets/message have anything in common, and tackle these in the same paragraph.

For example, don't do this:

Paragraph one - discusses sms 1
Paragraph two - discusses sms 2
Paragraph three - discusses sms 3...

Because if you do that, you'll find that you eventualy start repeating yourself.

Instead, do it like this...
Paragraph one - discusses all messages which feature arguments
Paragraph two - discusses all message which are sent in a more formal context
Paragraph three - discusses all messages which are sent by older people
Paragraph four - discusses all texts which are SPAM messages or unwanted messages
Paragraph five - discusses all texts sent between close friends and family


Linking to Context


 Follow this formula and you won't go far wrong.

1. Point out a language feature
2. Show a clear example or examples of where we see this in the data
3. Explain why this happens in a general sense - 'Emojis like this are used to express emotion rather than putting things into words which means that word counts are cut down, and there is less chance of messages being misread on an emotional level
4. Explain why this happens in this particular context - 'Within this message, it is particularly important that this 'laughing' emoji has been used, as the recipient is an older individual who may be more inclined to misread the sarcastic tone of the text if the emoji was not used to clarify it.

It is that last point which will ensure you are always linking to context. So, within each message, consider and comment on the following factors:

*How old is the sender/recipient? Is this having any effect on the language used?
*Is there a language/culture barrier between sender and recipient? Any linguistic effect?
*How well do the sender and recipient know each other? Is this affecting anything?
*Is the message informal or formal? Why? How is this shown linguistically?
*How far apart are the sender and recipient? Any linguistic effect?
*Is the message wanted or unwanted? How does this affect the things the sender says?
*SPAM MESSAGES - Remember, SPAM companies will use abbreviations and hyperlinks to keep word counts and costs down. They will also use a whole host of tactics to trick people into following the messages. Point these out when they shows up, and explain what you know about spammers.
*Multimodality - Do any of the messages show signs of CONVERSATIONAL features? Why? Point these out.

 ETC ETC ETC.

Do you see the benefit of this??? Essentially, this will guarantee that each PG has a nice specific focus, you won't be repeating yourself, and you should ALWAYS be able to link VERY EASILY to the context of the messages, showing how it is affecting language use.

Nick

2A - 60 Marker WALKTHROUGH

Ok,

So you are going to want a general walk-through for the essay. You know this already. There is no way around the fact that it is a BIG essay. Remember, if you follow the timings I have outlined in an earlier post, you should have between 60-65 minutes to write it.

THE QUESTION WILL PROBABLY ASK YOU HOW THE CONVENTIONS OF THE GENRE, OR ANOTHER RELATED ASPECT OF THE GENRE, HAVE CHANGED OVER TIME. WHATEVER IT ASKS YOU, YOU MUST ANSWER THE QUESTION DIRECTLY AND SIGNPOST YOUR ARGUMENT BACK TO THE QUESTION IN EACH PARAGRAPH.

Got it? Sorry if that looked a bit shouty, but it's pretty much the most important thing on the exam so take note.

So...make sure you do the following things:

1. Read the blurbs for each texts and highlight any key words that will give you clues about the content of the text. Often, you will see clues to do with the class, social position, age of writers etc.

2. Aim to find SIX key points in each text which directly answer the question. ie, if the question asks you to talk about how the conventions of the genre have changed, then aim to find around SIX conventions per text. Alternatively, if the question asks you something like 'how have attitudes towards love changed over time? Find points which mostly answer this question. And so on.

3. Write your paragraph clearly with a focused TOPIC SENTENCE, back them up with bits of EVIDENCE and use TERMS to discuss the KEY WORDS of PRAGMATIC SIGNIFICANCE. Remember, don't classify EVERY word, just the ones which carry meaning or are the most important.

4. If you come across KEY LANGUAGE TERMS, point them out as a 'by the way' sort of point. Don't just look out for grammatical stuff...comment on words which are archaic, or have changed meaning too.

5. Write your paragraphs QUICKLY and CONCISELY - you will need to get through a lot of them.

6. Write your six PGs on text A, then 6 on B, then 6 on C.

7. Ensure, in the majority of your paragraphs, that you make a comparison with one of the other texts.

8. STICK TO YOUR TIMINGS!!! YOU MUST COVER EACH TEXT EQUALLY!!! If you get a third of the way through your time and you have only done 4 PGs, MOVE ON!! Don't carry on with Text A forever, as your essay will be weak.

9. Remember, your paragraphs can differ in length. Some may be longer (but not too long), and some may only be short.

10. WRITE LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT. It is a long essay....there is no avoiding that...so write FAST. Write FASTER THAN YOU EVER HAVE BEFORE. WRITE UNTIL YOUR HAND ACHES. It will be worth it!

Do all the above, and you'll be fine.

Nick

2A - Diaries

The older they are, they are more likely to be/show/have/display...Probably only written by educated/higher class people as these would be the only ones to survive. Will be written more as a historical record or document. Will often include mention of activities/timetables. No focus on entertainment. Far more mention of religion and religious practices. Written in a factual tone - no suggestion that they are written to entertain or to be read by anybody else. Will contain mention of life in high-class settings. Writing will be largely accurate (for the time) and well-written due to nature of writers. A formal tone to be expected.


The newer they are, they are more likely to be/show/have/display...

Written by anyone. Written for a variety of purposes - possibly to record secrets, to complain, voice anger - far more focus on freedom of expression. Focus will be more on feelings and opinions due to change in oppressive nature of society. Tone of honesty and sometimes entertainment. Some more modern diaries - particularly if written by a significant individual such as a celebrity - are written with a view to them being read out or published (wider audience). Will feature interesting AND mundane activities. May be very informal in their approach.

2A - Articles

The older they are, they are more likely to be/show/have/display...Not necessarily as immediate in their reporting of the news. Might be published periodically rather than daily due to constraints of technology. May mention 'God' or 'God's will' more due to religious society. May seem far more superstitious due to beliefs of society at the time. Might demonise natural elements and disasters rather than people. May have a far more dramatic tone (more like a narrative rather than the more factual tone of modern journalism). May make assumptions and accusations due to the lack of legal system in society. May have a more local appeal and mention local place names/people etc as national papers are a relatively modern concept. May show views which are considered controversial by today's standards. Might seem sensationalist in their approach, as if warning the public. Not very much focus put onto writer.


The newer they are, they are more likely to be/show/have/display...

More immediate - sometimes even reported within minutes.  Will tend to stick to facts and quotes to ensure they can't be sued. May seek to demonise perpetrators of crimes, but always making sure they do not say anything which is legally dubious. May have a dramatic tone, but only once the modern conventions of the genre are established. For example, most articles' first PG will outline the who/what/where facts in a concise way before continuing to add information. Will always be very careful about legal implications when making assumptions, often relying on the quotes of others or modals such as 'may have' or 'might have'. May have a more national appeal. Will probably show less controversial views than an older text, but can still be controversial. Some papers will display a clear political stance. Might seem sensationalist in their approach, but simply just to sell papers rather than acting as a warning. Sometimes written by celebrities or famous journalists.

2A - Letters

COMPONENT 2A - LETTERS

If you get a question based on letters, look out for the following conventions. If they are there, then you can comment on them. If you find the EXACT OPPOSITE, then you can comment on how unusual that is. Either way, you win!




Letters




The older they are, they are more likely to be/show/have/display...

Written by people who are generally more literate and adventurous with language due to higher prestige of the form; look out in particular for particular people and how their role is reflected within the letter (explorers, writers etc - only letters from reputable individuals will have survived); more formal in tone; aimed at higher classes - consider how literate the population would have been; letters were far more practical - once upon a time they would have been the only real way of communicating over long distances. This would affect the content hugely; people generally more skilled and proficient at letter writing; lots of mention of love as often letters would be kept and saved if they were significant; lots of mentions of God due to more religious society; formal and proper uses of SE/grammar; strict social conventions.




The newer they are, they are more likely to be/show/have/display...

Written by anybody; aimed at a much wider audience; letters now written to show sentimentality or to raise importance of the communication; lower standards of grammar/SE; not as many social conventions or standards; much more choice and freedom; may include multi-modal aspects; may include intrusions from similar formats such as text/email (emoticons, phonetics spelling, homophones, abbreviations); often associated with military/complaints/legal processes; more casual in terms of subject matter.

2A - Recipes

If you get a question based on recipes, look out for the following conventions. If they are there, then you can comment on them. If you find the EXACT OPPOSITE, then you can comment on how unusual that is. Either way, you win!


Recipes


The older they are, they are more likely to be/show/have/display...

Written by cooks, for cooks; authoritative in tone; aimed at higher classes or people who are servants to higher class people; cooking is a practical and necessary thing; cooking may often be done on a grander scale; lots of presupposition because of the fact that the people reading it already do the job (knowledge of methods, equipment, amounts, measurements will be assumed); less sterile environment; archaic ingredients and attitudes will be shown; often recipes seem to be unappealing by today's standards showing a change in tastes.


The newer they are, they are more likely to be/show/have/display...

Written by celebrity chefs (maybe - but be careful); aimed at a much wider audience; cooking is now a hobby/done for enjoyment; creativity is key; multi-sensory approach due to new technologies; much less presupposition; much squeamish attitudes towards ingredients/ more sterile environment; much more choice and freedom (cloaked imperatives/face); different equipment available.

2A - Change Terms

You should also be able to identify examples of these phenomena in any historical texts you are presented with, and mention them as they crop up. This does not mean that you should write entire paragraphs about them, just that, if you see an example of pejoration, say this...


"The noun 'shambles', which has gone through a process of pejoration over time, is used here to express an attitude that the organisation of the kitchen is chaotic.'


See...so the pejoration bit is not the main point, it is just mention as a 'by the way'.


Language Change Terms


Semantic change/ semantic shift - an umbrella term for where any word or phrase has changed its meaning over time.
Example - 'Gay' used to mean 'happy', but now means 'homosexual'


Pejoration - A process where a word takes on a more negative meaning over time.
Example - 'Silly' used to mean 'happy', but now means 'idiotic'.




Amelioration - The word has become more positive in meaning over time.
Example - 'Brilliant' used to means 'bright', but now means 'extremely good or impressive'


Weakening - A word means the same thing but has lost impact over time.
Example - 'Awesome' used to mean 'beyond comprehension'. Now it is just a throw-away colloquialism for 'good'.


Narrowing - A word that used to refer to a variety of things now only refers to something far more specific.
Example - The word 'fowl' used to be a direct synonym for all species of birds. Now, it refers to a specific group of birds commonly used in cuisine such as hens, geese and ducks.


Broadening - A word which used to be very specific now refers to a much wider spectrum of things.
Example - The word 'desktop' used to mean 'the top of a desk'. It still means that now, but also the visual display on a computer screen.


Borrowing - A word which is clearly adopted from another language or culture.
Example - 'Pyjamas', 'Croissant', 'Boomerang', 'Tepee', 'Kindergarten'.


Neologism - A brand new word made up because there was not a suitable one already in existence


Compound - 'Lawn + mower = Lawnmower', 'Flower + pot = flowerpot'


Blend - 'Britain + Exit = Brexit', 'John + Edward = Jedward'


Clipping - 'Television' becomes 'telly', 'Telephone' becomes 'phone', 'perambulator' becomes 'pram'


Initialism - an abbreviation which is not said as an individual word - Like: FBI, DVD, BBC


Acronym - Where the abbreviation is said as a word - Like: Ofsted, Nato, Fifa

2A - 60 marker - Periods of English Language

Below is a diagram outlining the key periods in the history of the English language. Memorise them (this should take around five minutes). Whenever you introduce a text, you should mention in your intro which period of English it dates from.


It is unlikely you will get anything before early modern English, but memorise all of them just to be sure.

Component 2 General Guidelines

Hi all,

Although this might seem like a more complex exam, I actually don't think that you should feel as stressed about it as you did for component 1 as there are fewer variables and less stuff to remember. Keep reading and revising, and I'll take you through the component.

On the exam, you are tested on two different sections, A - Language Change over Time and B - Language in the 21st century.

However, this time, the sections are NOT EQUALLY WEIGHTED.

Timing

Here is how you should spend your time:

The exam is 2hr 15 mins long.

You should spend around 1 hr 25 mins on Section A - Language change (The 20 marker, and the 60 mark essay), then you should spend around 50 mins on section B (language in the 21st century essay).


I would recommend you spend around 20 mins on the 20 marker, and about 65 mins on the essay (including your planning time)

The 20 marker

There is guidance on CONNECT regarding how to answer the 20 marker. I will also continue to do lunch time tutorials on it and update the blog.


I will add more, so keep checking back.

The 60 mark essay

You will be asked to compared 3 texts from a similar genre but separated over time. The question will have a specific focus and will usually ask you to identify how the genre itself or an element of the genre has changed over time. You MUST ensure that the wording of your essay is always signposted towards this question, and shows a thorough understanding of the CHANGE you have seen.

You should aim to make around 6 points per text, making small but relevant comparisons as you go. Ensure you have analysed each text fully before moving onto the next.

In total, you essay should be between 16-18 PGs long plus an intro.

I would recommend you spend around 20 mins on the 20 marker, and about 65  mins on the essay (including your planning time)

The '21st Century' essay

This is a reasonably basic and approachable task. You should revise and read everything I provide for you here, but you should be confident over this.

You will be presented with some 21st century data. We don't know what it will be, but the practice materials have shown SMS messages, Tweets, Facebook statuses and email subject lines.

Essentially, you will be asked to analyse this data by talking about how the CONTEXT of the messages is affecting language.

This really is easy, and just requires you to think carefully about things you do every day.

I will write some more specific guidance on this in the next few posts.

You will be expected to analyse the data for around 4-5 paragraphs, then spend about 2- paragraphs talking about your own experiences and what theorists' view on the subject matter are.

Read ALL posts I put on here over the next two days, and you'll be fine.

Nick

Paper 1 Over!

So,

That's Paper 1 done. I'm sure you smashed it.

Even if you didn't, that's gone now so deep breaths and let's crack on!

You will now notice the Component 1 stuff has gone and Paper 2 stuff is beginning to appear. Get revising and I'll see you in lessons/tutorials.

Nick

Emails

I think I’m up to date with answering your emails. I’ll check again later on this afternoon and finally at 11.

Also, I’ll be getting in around 8am tomorrow in case anyone needs a last minute pep talk.

1A - Theory?

Hi all,

Had a couple of questions by email about whether you need theory in section A (Speech).

Short answer is no.

Long answer - you can mention Grice/Face theory but only if extremely relevant. The examiner will not be expecting any theory in that part, and you’re probably best saving it for Section B.

For section A just ensure you focus on writing lots of concise paragraphs and making comparisons.

1A/B EXAMPLE RESPONSES

Hi all,

Check your emails. I'm sending over past student example responses for Component 1. Look at the following things...

1. Length and complexity of PGs
2. Amount of theory (section B)
3. Amount of comparisons (section A)

Read them at your leisure!

Nick

1A - BLAGRS

Before - (Spontaneous, Pre-Scripted, Motives, Setting - How is this reflected?)


Lexis - (Make sure you analyse lexical choices and why they are important)


Audience - (What is the audience for this speech encounter, what are their needs/ how are they met?)


Grammar - (How is formality, complexity, fluency, tone important?)


Relationships/Roles - (What is the relationship between speakers/what are their roles? How is this shown?)


Specific spoken language features - (How do non-fluency, pragmatics, prosodics, power etc show themselves to be important here?)

1A - Speech - Full Response

Here is an example of a full response which I wrote for the last spoken text you looked at - the John Barnes text.


 This took just under half an hour IN TOTAL - I wanted to prove it could be done. You have almost twice as long to write yours. It could do with one or two more PGs ideally and stronger/more frequent connections, but it is certainly a strong effort.

Read it, and allow this to inform your structure for section A.

"Text A is a transcript between a famous ex-footballer and his mother, which I imagine would be partially pre-scripted as it is for TV broadcast. Within the exchange, we see both parties using spoken language techniques to identify family members and to recount memories which are relevant to the celebrity’s career, often over-explaining, which shows that this has been partially set up for the entertainment of the viewing audience.

It is clear that the two speakers have been instructed to ensure that they clarify certain aspects of their family life for the purpose of the viewers, visible where M says ‘my favourite picture of your father’. The emphatic stress placed on the noun ‘father’, and the determiner ‘your’ sound unnatural as it would be clear that Barnes would already know who is in the picture, but she is clarifying it for the viewers. We see a similar example when she says ‘you used to play a lot of football there’. The use of the second person pronoun ‘you’ and the phrasal verb ‘used to’ is again an odd inclusion as Barnes would already have this recollection. This seems to have a secondary purpose to inform the viewers of the origins of Barnes’ footballing career. This is dissimilar to text B where F actually refers to C’s mother as ‘little Norma’ – the proper noun reflecting a shared understanding only between family members.

The fact that JB is famous as a footballer is reflected in the edited subject matter of the exchange in Text A, with M focussing on Barnes’ footballing as a child and her declaration that he ‘had a good place coz [he] could run up and down’. The verb ‘run’ and adverbial phrase ‘up and down’ shows that he was an active and athletic child and hints that he was always destined to become a sportsman. Barnes also reflect how different life was for him compared to children living in the UK as he mentions ‘we had eighty mangos in the garden’. The enumerator ‘eighty’ and relatively low-frequency plural noun ‘mangos’ shows that Barnes lived in exotic surroundings, and this would seem odd or alien to the majority of BBC1 viewers who would have grown up in a much colder climate. This is similar to Text B where F focusses on the rural lifestyle he and his siblings enjoyed as children, and the trouble this got them into.

An element of humour is introduced in the text where the two speakers discuss how inappropriate the father’s gifts of a ‘woolly bath robe’ and a ‘big sweater’ were for their ‘hundred degree’ climate. The premodifying adjectives ‘big’ and ‘woolly’, juxtaposed with the enumerator ‘hundred’ shows how ill-thought-out the gifts were and categorise him as a rather dim individual, thus entertaining the audience.

Barnes attempts to add context to his arrival in the UK by claiming, ‘some of us who were deserted (2) stayed longer.’ It is clear that Barnes delivers this accusation with a humourous tone due to the massively hyperbolic past participle verb ‘deserted’ which is followed by an unvoiced timed pause for comic effect. The use of paralinguistic features by the mother ‘[laughs]’ shows that this is taken in good humour and is merely an inclusion to show how JB ended up being here for so long.

It is clear that the exchange has been edited to appear spontaneous and emotive. In a more formal situation, we might expect that there would be lots of interrogatives and more obvious adjacency pairs, but these are lacking from this exchange, except for later in he transcript when M asks ‘you remember much about him? (his grandfather). Here, the elliptical interrogative containing the adverb ‘much’ is used to chow that JB has gaps in his family memory which the show will help to fill. Throughout the exchange, we see lots of playful and relaxed interruptions by both speakers. Whilst this could be seen as a struggle for power in other situations, here it merely reflects their close relationship as family members. However, in terms of Fairclough’s features of dominance, JB is allowed to speak more, perhaps reflecting the wishes of the directors who would want to hear his insight on matters as the subject of the show. This is different to Text B where F allows C to interrupt him in order to keep her interest in the conversation.

A purpose to inform the viewers that Barnes’ family is perhaps far more prestigious than they might expect is fulfilled through the inclusion of a description of JB’s grandfather, Frank Hill. M’s assertion that ‘he was like an indoor kinda guy’ creates a humourous tone through the mixed formality of the hedge ‘kinda’ to mimic Barnes’ earlier comment about himself. The colloquial noun phrase ‘indoor kinda guy’ proves that Frank Hill was studious and intelligent. The importance of him as a figure is represented by the mention of a ‘bust of Frank’. The concrete noun ‘bust’ connotes he must have been a figure of some repute. JB’s backchanneling during this section, ‘mmm’ and ‘yes’ implies that he is impressed and proud to hear about this significant member of his family who was ‘Chairman of the National Heritage Trust’ – the compound noun ‘chairman’ signifying his huge importance, thus entertaining the audience.

Text B is an exchange between a small child and an older family member in which we see the older family member allow the child to dominate the conversation in order to keep her interested in the exchange. The child leads the conversation by asking directed questions, resulting in adjacency pairs presenting themselves. In addition to this, the uncle attempts to use this opportunity to instruct and warn the child, without much success.

An attempt to ensure the conversation runs smoothly is eveident from F. As C is only 9 years old, she is not familiar with the rules of conversation and so does not realise that she needs to be more specific with her questioning. This is reflected by F’s more simplified interrogative of, ‘what you want to hear then?’. The simplified verb ‘hear’ and adverb ‘then’ show that he wants to be more precise about the memories C would like him to divulge. C also shows that, due to her age, she is prone to interrupt F, meaning that F has to accommodate her so as not to upset her. We can see this on line 7 when when Freddy says, ‘well I said I’m a bit tired //but I//’ and is interrupted. Although he has just started an additional clause, the child interrupts him mid sentence with an interrogative, ‘//why// why were you tired uncle Freddy?’ This demonstrates that the child unintentionally flouts Grice’s maxim of quantity by interrupting after she has asked a direct question. This is dissimilar to text A where the exchange can be viewed as more of a battle for dominance.

A voice of encouragement from F regarding C’s ability to learn to ride a bike is visible through F’s use of prosodic features such as strtching out the verb ‘ri::::de’ and adverb ‘alri:::ght’. This is arguably done to make the process of learning to ride the bike sound more appealing and to encourage C to stick at it in order to reep the rewards of learning a new skill.

In a similar respect, we see F attempting to incorporate sub-purposes into the exchange when he warns C what nearly happened to her mother one time stating, ‘if I han’t a-caught her her she’d a-ran straight into the pit.’ From the conditional conjunction ‘if’ and adverb’straight’, it is clear that F is trying to exaggerate the risk faced by C’s mother in order to encourage the child to be more careful herself. However, it is evident that the child lacks the understanding of the situation and merely back-channels with the paralinguistic ‘{laughs}’, proving that she does not full realise the magnitude of the danger.

This voice of warning continues later on when F uses an example of a bridge washing away due to the actions of his brother Gerald. Because of their building up of a dam, he claims that someone said, ‘father gotta pay’. The elision ‘gotta’ and the overly formal proper noun ‘father’ hints at a situation full of tension due to the blame placed on the children, and the apparent lack of closeness in the relationship between the children and their father. F appears to think that the message has got through to C this time due to his willingness to stop talking and once more use prosodic features to respond with an elongated ‘ye::::s’ after C back-channels with the statement, ‘in big trouble’. The colloquial idiom containing the premodifying adjective ‘big’ shows that she has begun to take some of these warning seriously. However, her final declarative ‘but they had their fun’, containing the conditional conjunction ‘but’ and abstract noun ‘fun’ shows that she is still far more interested in whether or not the children enjoyed themselves than taking any sort of moral message from the anecdote.

It is clear that F is keen to use aspects of his local dialect when speaking to C, such as his use of dialect nouns such as ‘picle’ and ‘hoss’. It could be argued that his is a slightly irresponsible way to communicate with a child who apparently does not share the same dialect, as this would often be described as a potential use of downwards divergence in other contexts. However, it is possible here that this is simply a reflection of the relaxed communication between two family members, and may be used by F to simply introduce her to some words which are part of her family’s culture, and which she may wish to use in the future herself. This would be supported by Peter Trudgill who claims that is it our duty to attempt to preserves dialects, both new and old. We do not see similar dialect words being used in Text A, despite the family originating from Jamaica where the dialect is probably far more strong. This is likely because of the audience of the broadcast who may struggle to understand if a strong dialect were used, to the director has probably requested a rather standard use of English.

A final moral lesson about the perils of gambling is attempted by F when he recounts another anecdote where he hyperbolically exclaims, ‘I said to them can’t you see that police car’ in response to seeing his fiends playing the card game Newmarket for money. The rather incredulous sounding interrogative tone, particularly in reference to the contraction ‘can’t’, dynamic verb ‘see’ and noun phrase ‘police car’ shows that he is trying to persuade his young niece to adopt a negative stance towards gambling from an early age, something which she finaly seems to accept with the exclamative ‘more trouble’, the intensifier and abstract noun connoting that she ha finally learned a lesson. This is dissimilar to text A where the communication from the parent in recounting anecdotes is done for the entertainment of the viewers rather than to inform the child."

1B - POSSIBLE QUESTIONS (NOT OFFICIAL, JUST MY IDEAS)

Hi everyone,

A couple of people asked if I could provide any more potential questions for 1B as there are so few actual past papers. I will attempt to suggest some areas where you could write practice paragraphs.

1. A good study technique would be to print these off and jot down the case studies you would use if they came up. You have been given enough to cover any of these.

2. Answering example PGs on some of the trickier ones will help too.

All questions will begin with 'Using this extract as a starting point...'

Power

1. How can language be used to dominate?
2. How can language be used to manipulate?
3. How can language exploit certain types of people?
4. How can language be used to make people do things?
5. How can people break expectations of their role using language?
6. How is power shown in situations LIKE court cases?
7. How is power shown in the classroom and other SIMILAR situations?
8. How does the media use language to exert power over people?

Situation

1. How has Political Correctness changed language?
2. Discuss the idea that the context of a situation is as important as the language chosen.
3. How does language change in sensitive situations?
4. How does a person's job affect the language they use?
5. How does a situation's formality change how people use language?


Standard and Non-Standard English

1. How does a person's accent or dialect affect what people think about them?
2. Do people see a link between language and class?
3. Do people see a link between language and intelligence?
4. Do people see a link between language and crime/anti-social behaviour
5. "In general, people see Standard English and RP as BETTER than regional English." Do you agree?
6. "It is unlikely that Regional Varieties of English will ever be seen as equal to RP/STD". DO you agree?

Remember that you need to KEYWORD the question as it may state something very specific that you don't want to ignore.

DEAD IMPORTANT

A student (who I will not name) has JUST asked me 'Can you use the same case study for more than one question in Section B?'


YOU MUST ONLY ANSWER ONE QUESTION IN SECTION B!!!!!

You have a choice of three, but you choose the best ONE, and answer ONE!!!!!!

Oh,

and make sure you have your lanyards for the exam.

1B - ALL STD/NSTD CASE STUDIES

Hi again,

Just in case you're missing any, I'll send over an email with all the main case studies for Standard/Non-Standard.

DO NOT let it overwhelm you. It is not realistic to try and memorise all of them. Just read some of the ones you don't have and try to commit their main points to memory.

1B - Standard and Non-Standard THEORIES

Jean Aitchison

Damp Spoon Syndrome
Crumbling Castle Theory
Infectious Disease Assumption.

Ensure you know what each of those means, and only apply them if REALLY relevant to the point.

Donald Mackinnon

He studied peoples prejudices, and then described them.

Mackinnon says that some PEOPLE see language in the following ways.

SOME PEOPLE see SOME LANGUAGE USES as Incorrect (or correct)
SOME PEOPLE see SOME LANGUAGE USES as Socially unacceptable (or acceptable)
SOME PEOPLE see SOME LANGUAGE USES as Morally unacceptable (or acceptable)
SOME PEOPLE see SOME LANGUAGE USES as Ugly (or pleasant)

It is not HIM who thinks this. This is what he observed in other people. SO you would word it like this...

"When Bryson describes the replies from the local as a 'snort', he is displaying the view (as Mackinnon would observe) that some forms of language are ugly - which is very prejudiced and prescriptive,

1B - What to do in an EMERGENCY

No one should be seriously thinking about emergency situations right now. You have Four whole days to revise, and two hours of lesson time with me (if you include the tutorial tomorrow).

But...the question was put to me today.

Well, if you REALLY end up in this situation...

*Picked BEST question in section B and it is still awful
*Analysed the extract for 2 paragraphs then can't think of ANY other case studies.

Then you STILL don't panic. I'm not going to lie, it's unlikely you're going to get an A* in it if that's the case, but you can still write paragraphs on your own experience.

How hard is it to take a minute to think of a situation like this?

"My grandad is really prejudiced about people with posh accents. One day we went into a shop in London to buy a teapot and the lady behind the counter asked 'would Sir like any assistance?', the proper noun Sir denoting respect. My Grandad really embarassed me by mimicking her accent and asking 'Are you related to the Queen?'. The past participle verb 'related' and proper noun 'Queen' show extreme prejudice on my grandad's part (then explain and apply theory).

Alternatively, you could easily think of a situation where someone shows prejudice about a working class accent, and apply theory IF RELEVANT.

Either way, I literally just made that up on the spot, so you should never be TOTALLY stuck for something to say. But DO NOT rely on it.

1B - Standard and Non Standard Essay plan

Before you read this...this is in NOTE FORM and was done FROM MEMORY in the lunch time tutorial. Therefore, some of the quotes are not going to be totally accurate so DO NOT learn quote from this essay. Go back to the original case studies.

Also, you may look at this, laugh, and think 'I could do so much better than that.' Well...if you do, great! I want you to.

But anyway, this is how Me, Faye, Kieran, Caitlin and Tom answered the question FROM MEMORY.

Using the Rastamouse comments as a starting point, discuss the idea that some people have prejudices towards others based on the type of language they use

Rastamouse –

Firstly – it seems that people judge a person’s ability to forge a successful career there will be no people to ‘get a job in DA bank’. Colloquial definite article ‘da’, noun ‘bank’ show that they think because of Jamaican accent, they will essentially get nowhere in life. Also, implies all people with Jamaican accents are drug addicts ‘of course all mention of cheese is a reference to Ganja’. Juxtaposition of nouns cheese/ganja shows prejudice about morality based on language. Could mention theory here. Mackinnon (language socially/morally unacceptable). ‘I’d prefer that my daughter learn the Queen’s English’. Possessive proper noun ‘Queen’s’ implies a prejudice that the language of the wealthy is preferable to the language of the poor.

Maxine Peake article – said about role ‘she’s educated, she’s been to university’. The pp verb ‘educated’ and noun ‘university’ imply prejudice that somebody who speaks with a ‘Bolton brogue’ could convincingly play an educated part. ‘What about the accent?’ use of definite article shows that he feels she should have seen it as an issue herself.

Virginia Ironside problem page – ‘These accents are like eurochecks’. Plural noun eurochecks is positive and quite prescriptivist but still shows prejudice. Implies that accents can be picked up and dropped like tools. ‘Just because he speaks like a lager lout…’ Noun phrase ‘lager lout’ very prejudiced. Implies that someone with a working class accent is more likely to be violent.  ‘Riddled with class’. ß she sees RP as a disadvantage at time. Interesting point. 

Trudgill – ‘people should be encouraged to take pride in their regional accents’. – abstract noun ‘pride’ shows that he wants society to be less judgemental about accents. John Honey, by comparison say that we are ‘doing children a disservice’ if we do not teach them about the importance of standard English. Low frequency noun ‘disservice’ shows that, although he displays SOME prescriptivist attitudes towards regionality, he overall thinks that we should now to prejudices, otherwise children will be held back later in life.

Bill Bryson – Standard American writer. Visits Devon. Shows real prejudice against local Devonian speakers. Says they have an ‘oi be drinkin zoider’. ß analyse. Shows Mackinnon’s socially unacceptable use of language. Implies people with working class accents are more likely to be alcoholics (this may have been better going after the Rastamouse PGs as the point are quite easy to link).

Case Studies not used, but could have been...

Talking Posh is Aspirational, not snobbish

Liverpool Barmaid Transcript

Caxton's Eggs

Harry Potter (Hagrid's introduction where ROwling uses non-standard to make him seem friendly as opposed to the other posh guy)

Have a go yourself!

1B - Situation (Changing Attitudes Question) - FINISHED CLASS ESSAY FROM TODAY

Hi all,

Here is the finished essay from today. Have a go at rewriting some of the paragraphs, or remembering the content in note form from memory.

Using this extract as a starting point, discuss how changing standards or attitudes can affect the language people use.

Within the extract, it is clear that Mitchell’s attitude to holocaust-related language is different to the Israeli couple who complained about the actions documented in the passage. Whereas the couple use an intensifier to stress the fact that they are descended the ‘very’ people who Hitler was trying to exterminate, Mitchell seems to believe that their reaction is still a little bit over the top. Mitchell draws attention to the idea that the exclamative ‘Heil Hitler!’ was seen by the couple as an example of the abstract noun ‘anti-semitism’, but his arguably more modern values lead him to claim, ‘I just don’t think that’s true’. Here, the verb ‘think’ and adjective ‘true’ are used to suggest that he is not criticising the couple for being offended, but that he feels they have taken the actions of the young couple the wrong way. The use of the verb and noun in the phrase ‘doing the moustache’ is significant as it shows that Mitchell believes that we should be a bit more accepting of the ‘offensive’ language used by the pranksters due to the context in which it was used.

Mitchell is clearly a little bit torn by the use of language surrounding the exhibit, however. Near the start of the article, he questions whether or not the abstract noun ‘attraction’ is appropriate when discussing something that has caused such offense. When Mitchell juxtaposes the noun ‘museum’ and ‘racket’ as alternatives, he clearly is attempting to display that there is something culturally unacceptable about applying such positive lexis to an exhibition which features such a controversial figure as Hitler. Despite having far more liberal attitudes than the couple who made the complaint, he later shows discomfort at the whole idea by using the sardonic verb ‘frolicking’ to describe the offenders’’ actions, implying that they have acted inappropriately.

Steven Pinker, a professor from Harvard university, had a lot to say about how people’s attitudes towards language can affect what people say. Pinker said that, ‘semantics is about the relation of words to other human concerns’. Here, Pinker seems to be trying to influence what people think about the actual meaning of a word. By using the noun ‘semantics’ coupled with the plural noun phrase’ human concerns’, Pinker tries to explain that a word can be very sensitive in its use if it is likely to make certain members of the population feel a certain way based on contextual suffering associated with that word, such as words linked to slavery or oppression.

Pinker’s ideas can be applied to the offensive taboo noun ‘n***er’ which is often seen by many as one of the most offensive words in the English language. The word itself actually originated from the Portuguese for the word ‘black’ and so, from a purely semantic perspective, it may seem unusual that it carries so much more offense than the politically correct English term ‘black’. However, we should also consider Pinker’s ideas of the ‘euphemism treadmill’ which states that words that are used to denote minority groups will usually become offensive over time due to their use in context. This word has become very offensive due to the fact that it was first used during the transatlantic slave trade and so its use is often associated with the oppression of racial minorities. However, in more recent times, semantic reclamation has occurred which has resulted in the noun being used in more positive contexts. Rap group NWA (N**gaz with attitude) use a colloquial version of the plural noun, along with the preposition ‘with’ and abstract noun ‘attitude’ to suggest that they are happy to adopt the title as a response to the brutality of police in 1990s USA. The abstract noun implies that they are proud to be known as something different to the police, and will fight against the oppression they feel they are suffering.

Another example of semantic reclamation can be seen with the taboo adjective ‘queer’. Originally meaning ‘unusual’, this term first became offensive due to the fact that it implied that homosexuality was different and abnormal. Again, due to the euphemism treadmill, it was quickly seen as totally offensive and unacceptable when applied to gay people. However, in more recent times, the word has been reclaimed such as in the title of the TV show ‘Queer eye for the straight guy’, in which the preposition ‘for’ and adjective ‘straight’ imply that gay fashion sense is a benefit to straight people. This demonstrates a huge change in attitude. More recently, the term has been adopted by LGBT+ activists as the politically correct term for people who are gender fluid. The term ‘genderqueer’ is now used by many activist groups, with ‘pride.com’ claiming it was inspired by ‘the queer movement’s effort to “queer” the normalcy of cisgenderness and heterosexuality’. The unusual use of the verb ‘queer’ juxtaposed with abstract nouns ‘cisgenderness’ and ‘heterosexuality’ are used to show that the term ‘queer’ has been so successfully reclaimed semantically that people now feel they can use it to make the ‘norm’ or straightness seem unusual by comparison.

Similar changing attitudes over time have also had a huge effect on the language used in advertising. In an extract that we studied in class, an advert for women’s shoes from the 1950s featured a woman being physically stood on, with the imperative phrase ‘keep her where she belongs’ accompanying the image. During this patriarchal era, this would have seemed acceptable as the verb ‘keep’ and pronoun ‘her’ clearly address the male partner of the woman, rather than the woman herself, reflecting the accepted norm that the man would have been in charge of a married couple’s finances. Today, this gender expectation would be seen as unacceptable, and now women are expected to be in charge of their own finances and purchases. This change has been largely brought about through the middle part of the twentieth century where the political correctness movement encouraged society to view women as equal to men, in turn changing peoples’ attitudes to a woman’s role in society. The present tense verb ‘belongs’ would also be considered unacceptable by modern standards as it is not seen as politically correct to impose an expectation on a person and where they ‘belong’ simply due to their gender.

Lastly, it is interesting to note that, although the political correctness movement has had a huge effect on the language used in corporate or social settings, the field of comedy seems to be much slower in adapting to the attitude that discrimination is unacceptable. In his recent ‘Humans’ tour, famous comedian Ricky Gervais ridiculed transgender celebrity Caitlin Jenner due to her decision to change from her birth gender. Gervais attempted to derive humour by saying, ‘If you feel you’re a woman, you are…which is fine because I’ve always identified as a chimp’. By using the past participle verb ‘identified’ which is from the semantic field of gender reassignment, and the noun ‘chimp’, Gervais appears to ridicule the idea that Jenner has sincerely been affected by being transgender. It appears that he is mocking the very concept of identifying as something other than the way you are born. In this PC age, many people would see this as offensive and unacceptable due to modern liberal attitudes. However, it is possible that this is simply being said in an ironic way to gain a reaction from the audience, as many comedians do. Sarah Thorne sums this up nicely by saying, ‘Distasteful uses of language are tempered by the understanding that we would not act that way [in real life’. The verb ‘tempered’ suggests that, although the audience would normally see this prejudice as unacceptable, they are happy to laugh at it in the context of comedy because they known that Gervais is a performer, and does not mean what he says.

In conclusion, it is clear that changing attitudes over time have had a huge effect on the language that people see as acceptable. Largely, this has changed the way in which people consider their choices so that they do not offend people. Although, even words which are offensive are sometimes still used if they have gone through the process of semantic reclamation or being used ironically.

1B - Situation - COMEDY and PC (Ricky Gervais Quotes) about Caitlin Jenner

1B - Situation - QUOTES FOR PC/NON PC

Sarah Thorne - (applies to non-PC comedy) 'Distasteful uses of language are tempered by the understanding that we would not act that way [in real life]' <- This is paraphrased but is fine to use as long as you write it like this. It is basically her way of saying that stand up comedians will say offensive things knowing that it will be taken in humour and not as their real thoughts.

Steven Pinker (Harvard Professor) - 'Semantics is about the relation of words to thoughts, but it also about the relation of words to other human concerns' 

Steven Pinker - Euphemism treadmill (No need to remember a quote, just remember what it is and a few examples of words which have gone through this process).

1B - Diagram to help you organise your case studies