CHAPTER 4

EVALUATING MESSAGE AND/OR IMAGES

INTRODUCTION
LANGUAGE CHANGE IS INEVITABLE.
Language a system of conventional spoken, manual, or written symbols by means of
which human beings, as members of a social group and participants in its culture,
express themselves.
INCORRECT VS. CORRECT LANGUAGE USE
WHAT IS CORRECT LANGUAGE USE?
 PRESCRIPTIVISTS EQUATE CORRECTNESS TO STRICT OBSERVANCE OF
THE RULES OF GRAMMAR.
PRESCRIPTIVISTS – THESE ARE THE EDUCATED MEMBERS OF SOCIETY WHO
HAVE THE POWER TO SANCTION SPEAKERS FOR NOT FOLLOWING LANGUAGE
RULES.
1. TEACHERS
2. MANAGERS
3. SUPERVISORS
4. PERSON WITH AUTHORITY WHO GIVE FAILING GRADES IN SCHOOL
5. WHO CAN MAKE APPLICANTS FAIL JOB INTERVIEWS OR WHO CAN
APPROVE OR DISSAPPROVE EMPLOYEES PROMOTIONS.
FOR STRUCTURE
 YOU MAY JUST DWELL ON THE TOPIC IN THE ESSAY, BUT IN THE
REPORT, YOU ARE EXPECTED TO PROVIDE FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS
AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
FOR THE PRESENTATION
 PRESENTATION OF INFORMATION, ESSAY DOES NOT USUALLY HAVE
SECTIONS BUT FLOW AS A CONTINIOUS PIECE OF WRITING; REPORTS
ARE DIVIDED INTO SEPARATE SECTIONS AND SUBSECTIONS.
FOR THE LANGUAGE
 LANGUAGE OF BOTH TEXTS, YOU NEED TO USE FORMAL REGISTER BUT
WITH VARIED TYPES OF VOCABULARY BECAUSE OF THE DIFFERENT
AUDIENCES.
 TEXT OR MESSAGE
 IS THE INFORMATION CONVEYED IN THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS.
 HOWEVER, MESSAGE (OR “TEXT”) REFERS TO ANY RECORDED
MESSAGE INDEPENDENT OF ITS SENDER OR RECEIVER.
ASSEMBLAGE OF SIGNS (SUCH AS WORDS, IMAGES, SOUND, AND GESTURE)
CONSTRUCTED WITH REFERENCE TO THE CONVENTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH
A GENRE AND IN A PARTICULAR MEDIUM OF COMMUNICATION (SUCH NON-
VERBAL OR VERBAL)
The term “medium” is used in a variety of ways.
MASS MEDIA
 RADIO
 TELEVISION
 NEWSPAPER
 MAGAZINES
 BOOKS
 PHOTOGRAPHS
 FILMS
 RECORD
MEDIA OF INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
 TELEPHONE
 LETTER
 FAX
 EMAIL
 VIDEO-CONFERENCING
 COMPUTER BASED CHAT SYSTEMS
THREE FACTORS HAVE IMPLICATIONS
STRUCTURE – REFERS TO HOW THE INFORMATION IS ORGANIZED
LANGUAGE – IS THE MEANS BY WHICH THE INFORMATION IS EXPRESSED
VERBALLY AND/OR NON-VERBALLY.
PRESENTATION – COVERS THE LAYOUT, FORMAT, LENGTH, ORAL DELIVERY,
(VOICE, BODY LANGUAGE, TIMING) AND ANY OTHER CONVENTIONS, SUCH AS
SPELLING AND REFERENCING.
SEMIOTICS AND TEXT ANALYSIS
SEMIOTICS IS CONCERNED WITH “EVERYTHING THAT CAN BE TAKEN AS A
SIGN”
IT IS ALSO INVOLVED “THE STUDY NOT ONLY OF WHAT WE REFER TO AS
“SIGNS” IN EVERYDAY SPEECH, BUT OF ANYTHING WHICH “STANDS FOR”
SOMETHING ELSE.
SIGNS CONSIST OF SIGNIFIERS AND SIGNIFIEDS
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SIGNIFIERS AND THE SIGNIFIEDS IS
REFFERED TO AS A SIGNIFICATIONS
SIGNIFIERS
 SOUNDS AND IMAGES
SIGNIFIEDS
 CONCEPTS

EXAMPLE:
LETTER (B-O-Y) OR A PICTURE OF A BOY IT IS A SIGNIFIER
WHEN YOU THINK OF A CONCEPT “MALE CHILD” IT IS A SIGNIFIED.
Here is a list of mistranslations seen around the world
Aeroflot advert – Introducing wide boiled aircraft for your comfort
Airline ticket Office, Copenhagen – We take your bags and send them in all directions
A menu in Vienna – Fried milk, children sandwiches, roast cattle and boiled sheep
A sign on a car in Manila, Philippines – Car and owner for sale
A sign posted in Germany’s black forest – It is strictly forbidden on our black forest
camping site that people of different sex, for instance, men and women, live together in
one tent unless they are married with each other for that purpose.
At a Budapest zoo – PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS. If you have any suitable
food, give it to the guard on duty.
At a Korean restaurant in Auckland, New Zealand – We do not re-use the food.
Athens hotel – Visitors are expected to complain at the office between the hours of 9
and 11 A.M daily
Detour sign in Kyushu, Japan – Stop: Drive Sideways
In a Bangkok dry cleaners – Drop your trousers here for best results
In a New Zealand restaurant – Open seven days a week, and weekends too
In an Italian Cemetery – Persons are prohibited from picking flowers from any but their
own graves
Sign at Mexican Disco – Members and non-members only
Japanese hotel room – Please to bathe inside the tub
Restaurant window – Don’t stand there and be hungry. Come on in and get fed up
SEMIOTICS
CAN HELP US NOT TO TAKE “REALITY” FOR GRANTED BECAUSE REALITY DOES
NOT HAVE AN OBJECTIVE EXISTENCE IT IS SOMETHING THAT IS SUBJECT TO
HUMAN INTERPRETATION.
MASS MEDIA AND MULTIMODAL TEXTS
MASS MEDIA – REFERS TO THE TYPEOF COMMUNICATION THAT USES
TECHNOLOGY TO SIMULTANEOUSLY REACH A WIDE AUDIENCE.
FIVE TYPES OF MASS MEDIA
1. PRINT
2. RADIO
3. REGULAR BROADCAST TELEVISION
4. CABLE TELEVISION
5. AND TELECOMMUNICATION (INTERNET OR SATELLITE SERVICES)
MULTIMODAL – A TEXT IS “MULTIMODAL” WHEN IT COMBINES TWO OR MORE
OF THE FIVE SEMIOTIC SYSTEMS
1. LINGUISTIC OR TEXTUAL SYSTEM - COMPRISING ASPECTS SUCH AS
VOCABULARY, GENERIC STRUCTURE, AND THE GRAMMAR OF ORAL AND
WRITTEN LANGUAGE
2. VISUAL SYSTEM - CONSISTING OF ASPECTS, SUCH AS COLOR, VECTORS,
AND VIEWPOINT IN STILL AND MOVING IMAGES
3. AUDIO SYSTEM - WITH ASPECTS, LIKE VOLUME, PITCH AND RHYTHM OF
MUSIC AND SOUND EFFECTS.
4. GESTURAL SYSTEM - INCLUDING ASPECTS, SUCH AS MOVEMENT, SPEED,
AND STILLNESS IN FACIAL EXPRESSION AND BODY LANGUAGE.
5. SPATIAL SYSTEM - COVERING ASPECTS, LIKE PROXIMITY, DIRECTION,
POSITION OF LAYOUT, AND ORGANIZATION OF OBJECTIN SPACE.
THREE EXAMPLES OF MULTIMODAL TEXTS
 A PICTURE BOOK - IN WHICH THE TEXTUAL AND VISUAL ELEMENTS ARE
ARRANGED ON INDIVIDUAL PAGES THAT CONTRIBUTE TO AN OVERALL
SET OF BOUND PAGES
 A WEB PAGE - IN WHICH ELEMENTS SUCH AS SOUND EFFECTS, ORAL
LANGUAGE, WRITTEN LANGUAGE, MUSIC, AND STILL OR MOVING
IMAGES ARE COMBINED.
 A LIVE BALLET PERFORMANCE - IN WHICH GESTURE, MUSIC, AND
SPACE ARE THE MAIN ELEMENTS.
READING (FOR ANALYSIS), SPEAKING, AND WRITING ASSESSMENTS
A. ADVERTISE MAKING - IN GROUPS OF AT LEAST FIVE MEMBERS, THINK
OF ANY CAUSE-ORIENTED EVENT, AND DO THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES
1. PREPARE AN ADVERTISEMENT THAT CAN BE USED IN
FOUR MEDIA OUTLETS
2. PRINT A COPY OF ADVERTISEMENT (SHOW, DISCUSS,
LISTEN COMMENTS, SUBMIT BOTH PREMILINARY AND
REVISED COPY OF ADVERTISEMENT TO THE
INSTRUCTOR)
B. PROJECT - THESE PROJECT WILL HELP YOU PAY ATTENTION TO
DETAILS AND ENHANCE YOUR ABILITY TO PRODUCE MEANINGFUL TEXT
ANALYSES
1. EMAILING AND TEXTING – SAVE ALL YOUR INCOMING AND
OUTGOING EMAILS AND TEXT (SMS) FOR A PERIOD OF TIME
UNTIL YOU HAVE ENOUGH MATERIALS FOR ANALYSIS.
2. EMAIL SPAM – IS ANY EMAIL THAT WAS NOT REQUESTED BY
A USER BUT WAS SENT TO THAT USER AND MANY OTHERS,
TYPICALLY (NOT ALWAYS MALICIOUS INTENT. (SENDER IS
ANONYMOUS AND NO OPTION TO STOP)
3. CREATION OF SOME OTHER MULTIMODAL TEXT – THIS
ACTIVITY WILL ALLOW YOU TO DO TWO THINGS-CREATE
YOUR OWN TEXT AND ANALYZE YOUR CLASSMATES
CREATED TEXT.