Rost, Tema 06 (Secundaris) Pha 3 Analés, Toma 06 (Secundaria) Pag. 4. INTRODUCTION, nas ote been assumed tht whats phon can aso be wrtenhat wigs spy an terse frm of epessn fo pein ert see a apn ea ‘ened ta sand, Tut ta, a weg syetam ir capatie of representing Pose ‘ewes ngs: (1 pow ear nae (taded) xpresors, re ma Joey ef erent ara (2) by prvng the ean eng Penang) esson > ‘mel at at sen coos booing and cg n ve wens fe ‘hors, mites (or cnomi,chen oa oegre) anh he So Eni or ear, tetane (1)rcid spats fre est nay Es wands, 2né (rca ree ‘eso sain te canbe ape ware gegs do reyes = Janie, nome, ring spars ee to gece conformity rcs hey ‘enrl spoy for covert nd pry beaut eer wn ahaa be ‘Bence win eve cee synthe enmranceo ara, rey re oF (goera Savana onginge ts oy vad (rd ero to be ea jute) sia may Fe caiventoy ped tnd ere eles fo Tre coor Ook wees othe siege expend So ft way rin nda aye rah swt [ingen teen spec nc wren ed ab aa untern win cae the Man fmbel f ts ory. and wen leary t wits koje stunts meat, Fie Stenger be resue ocala, ‘Sorting etme tt oma lin tnsteeGronérg coed wore for te etbihed noose te srasge weep eters, abe or dabec Spans, orm sove mertasat o compte mer for ann Bet rt cote, Sey ee ger ps we esis eb ce, Don Da ah om, eer rt tc of ke me bate coume ‘erpart in writing ryt, ota, den of ares, vara vce cay, pace Iya stig as we os nal ears by wn we recog ha eS MY tan) Siloti te va crc o's pst para och “Te qution tot matali atas i wheter tse amisens ae ae water these ar fee ats see iat owt dow, ere wit mere plat Ie erty a be ur rete some pos rns WY ‘wing sete ha nga etre Wd Te neato ue I Ing Bossa 2. WRETTEN COMMUNICATION. CHARACTERISTICS. 2.4. WRITTEN COMMUNICATION IN CONTRAST WITH SPEECH. La snc itn tes ae typical oot pecs and were a be sane ‘ones pes sey ae oan Te aay ote engage = oh by ngs ‘al ne fence)" eel oan te rate rsa 00 he ‘Sten te, oat te prominent fe nena anita rhe ‘ral reo howe hue the pocaaes suoled be prtuclon & win tote re Uy ret dey connie snes, the fe at fe prods pest over te "bey vrs type ferrin erncae acs ela, The wien tis on be San ater ys rerployed dupes, david to parcuar soso een on Suson, a se acs tbe eae! rope ommarcave Ses a ohInglés, Tema 06 (Secundaria) Pag. 3 right (or as parts of such acts). Note, however, that these acts are normally instigated and per- formed by other people than the writer (the original sender) himself. While a speaker may exert a considerable social-psychological pressure on the listener and may direct the latter's thoughts and feelings through his own verbal (and non-verbal) signals, a writer has not at all the same immediate power over the reader(s). If we proceed further in comparing communication by written texts to communication in spoken discourse, we will also note the following characteris- tics: 1 A written text and its components parts (letters, words, sentences, Paragraphs etc) have the character of objects; they are persistent and sta -(atemporal) (spatially but not temporally organized). Considerable sections may. (almost) simultaneously or at least repetitively (in principle as many times as re quired). (I disregard here the fact that the activities involved in reading:are also dynamic and distributed in time, something which must-have consequences for the resulting comprehension.) Rapid, urgent responses are usually not necessary. 2. The written text is made up of discrete symbols, i.e. | in print) and (graphic) words, and these are organized in certain regular Spatial patterns (ac- cording to syntactic rules as well as various conventicns..of*punctuation and Paragraph division). (These symbols are. the approximate ‘counterparts of only some of the structural (i.e. segmental-phonological, grammatical, lexical) fea- tures of spoken language; the pros the non-verbal signals of the communicative acts in s ave almost no correspondence in writing). ? a Unlike spoken utterances, a writteri xt lacks an immediate context. Though it is true that a reader.mus =Must,, invorder.to properly understand a written text "place it in a wider context" (usin ious kinds of background knowledge, e.g. knowl- edge about thi ics of thi Comparison with spoken utterances - relatively ediate context must be compensated for, i.e., ully described, arguments must be represented more latively autonomous or context-free (the text stands on its own feet to a muchigreater extent than spoken utterances in a dialogue, for the sender's and the receiver's behaviour, expectations, intentions etc are ly immediately relevant for the interpretation). In principle a written text | led at any place, and the decoding can often be performed by a ber of different people. ‘Furthermore, the medium of writing is adapted for a monologic function. Nor- ly, the sender, the writing individual, works alone, and the same applies to the receiver. 4. The acquisition of the ability to read and write is quite different from learning to speak and understand speech. Normally, a considerable amount of explicit in- struction is needed, and the more skilled and erudite writers have usually gone through many years of rather intense training. Thus, the acquisition of written language belongs to the so-called secondary socialization, in which school and other cultural institutions play a very important instrumental part. Schooling and education are unevenly distributed in most (all?) societies. Thus, while spoken language is largely every man's property, written language is the belonging of only rather few people. This circumstance forms the basis of the function of writ- © ECOEM, S.A. — 902 930 870 — www.ecoem.es — central@ecoem.es Feta nuhlicacidén co encuentra renictrada actin recarvadne tadne Ine dererhac Ni la tatalidad ni narta da la ined oe Inglés, Tema 06 (Secundaria) Pag. 4 ten language in social stratification. Written language is mainly used in the non- private life sphere, and, again unlike spoken language, it is not integrated with everyday knowledge and culture but is associated mostly with various kinds of abstract knowledge separate from the world of direct experience. When writing is taught, a number of more or less explicit norms or rules are referred to, and these norms will therefore be partly conscious to the language users. This in turn is related to still other important properties of written language: a) written language is more constrained by rules and conventions than guage, especially as regards its form; 3 b) in general, there is less variation (i.e., less dialectal and idiolectal var in) an More invariance in written language, except perhaps in advanced literacy uses, especially poetry; and : 4 c) the conditions under which written language is generally taught have premoted the quite common belief that (some variants of) written: lafiguage represent(s) the grammatical" correct language, whereas many variants of spoken language are incorrect, defective, incoherent, ugly and/or rude. poken lan- guage is used very much as in certain written styles, deliberately used for mirroring certain spee sty existed transitory forms; how else could we‘expla languages in cultures that were originally-entirely, Pointabove, there are of course variations in luage=too. In particular, there are often certain bound forms of speech, whi c@aventiGnally constrained in form and content than normal spoken discourse. Suc! as ‘often used for the recital of orally told myths, laws, proverbs, epic poems etc, and they'seem to occur also in cultures which totally lack writing (e.g., certain Polynesian cultures). On:the other hand, these varieties are among those which are liable to be written: down, at-an early stage in those cultures where writing systems are in- deed developed. © ae More specifically, if we considerithe fourth normativity and ritualization in spo wing can be considered the most typical formal characteristics of same time, differentiate it from spoken English: 1 jominalization; 2. jeneric reference; 3. “.except for texts with the expressive function of language, objectivity; 4. formality, non-colloquial expressions, especially in technica! texts; 5. preference of the passive voice over the active; 6 no hedges (e.g. “kind of”) or discourse fillers (e.g. 'er..., well...")- rigorous cer- tainty; 7. more use of verbs of thinking than in oral language (e.g. provide, convey, etc); 8. technical vocabulary; 9. dummy ‘it’ as impersonal subject of sentences; 10. rigorous, non-ambiguous expressions (except for texts with the expressive lan- guage function); 41, referential explicitness; 12. _ no contractions, false starts, topic changes or repetitions; © ECOEM, S.A. — 902 930 870 — www.ecoem.es — central@ecoem.es Esta publicacién se encuentra registrada, estén reservados todos los derechos. NI la totalidad ni parte de laInglés, Tema 06 (Secundaria) Pag. 5 13. greater number of lexical than function words, leading to lexical complex- ity/density; and 14. hypotaxis (subordination): at least, less parataxis than in oral language. Of all the abovementioned characteristics, lexical density is one of those which de- serve special attention and is discussed in more detail below. Before that, one could also men- tion those types of texts in which their form is marked by the fact that they are meant to be used mainly in oral production, like scripts of dialogues for films, speeches, news to be read on television or radio. The formal characteristics of written texts can also be affected in those texts which although written, are used for immediate reception and form part of conyersation-like exchanges. The best example comes from the use of chats on the Internet, where: e and even the set of available signs (e.g. emoticons) differ from the typical form: communication discussed above. 2.1.1. LEXICAL DENSITY. the National The following sentence is taken from a written report (Annu Trust of Australia 1982-83, p. 14): “The Trust has offered advice to local goversment authorities on’ cemetery conserva- tion.” : It consists of twelve words. Of these, C those that function in closed the articles), pronouns, most grammatical words are the, has, In other words, there, “ical words as there are grammatical words. Compare this with the spoken ver had was in fog and ice.” Counting:“I've” as on was, in, and an the propgritags this has 13 words; of these, the, only, that, ever, had, grammatical items; the lexical items are rea/, accident, fog, and ice. Here reversed: twice as many grammatical as lexical. is is, a characteristic difference between spoken and written “ae Written lan- Not FA a consequence of the subject-matter. Here are a number of written sen- tences with a translation into a form that would be more likely to occur in speech; it is still not especially ‘colloquial’. Figures show the numbers of lexical (L) and grammatical (G) words. fa. Investment in a rail facility implies a long-term commitment (L:7; G:3), versus “ b, If you invest in a rail facility, this implies that you are gaing to be committed for a long term. (L:7; G: 13) a. Business community lunchers relax in this dappled mid-city sanctuary while sav- ing something for the resident seagulls (L: 10; G: 6), versus b. Members of the business community relax while they lunch in this dappled sanc- tuary in the middle of the city, and save something for the seagulls that live © ECOEM, S.A. — 902930870 — www.ecoem.es — central@ecoem.es Esta publicacién se encuentra registrada, estan reservados todos los derechos. Ni la totalidad ni parte de la micma nueda ranradurires o tranemitirea nor ninatin nracedimiantn alactrénicn a mac&nien Inclivanda fatacania Inglés, Tema 06 (Secundaria) Pag. 6 there. (L: 12; G: 16) a. A grey-faced Dr. Coffin unlocked the door (L:6; G:2), versus b. Dr. Coffin unlocked the door, and as he did so his face was grey. (L: 5; G:9) We can explain the significance of the distinction as follows. The difference between written and spoken language is one of DENSITY: the density with which the information is presented. Relative to each other, written language is dense, spoken language is sparse. A number of factors contribute to this density; it is a fairly complex phenomenon, as we would discover if we tried to quantify it in an exact way. But it is mainly the prod number of variables, and these we can observe without a complicated battery of ments. One caution should be given. By expressing the distinction in “this way, We have “already ‘loaded! it semantically. To say that written language is 'more dense'.i start from spoken language, then written language will be shown to’ e The distinction we have to recognise at this point is one we nevgtere to already: that between lexical items and grammatical items.:‘Lexical items are nN called ‘content words'. Technically, they are ITEMS (i.e. constituen ariable length) rather than words in the usual sense, because they may consist of more tha word; 4 for, example, stand up, take over, call off, and other phrasal verbs all functior cause they function in lexical sets, not in gi open, not closed contrasts. A grammatical item enters into.a.closed system.,For example, the personal pronoun Aim contrasts on one dimension with Ae, ‘fis; on another dimension with me, you, her, it, us, them, one, but that is ail. There are. eit in these classes and we cannot add any. With a lexical item, however, we: cani ‘Class membership; it enters into an open set ris in contrast with gate and screen; also with window, wall, floor, and , handle, panel, and silf, with room, house, half, with entrance, opening, portal Js no.Way of closing off the sets of items that it is related to, and new items As.a first-apptoximatioh to a measure of lexical density, therefore, we can draw the dis- tinction ‘between and: grammatical items, simplifying it by treating each word (in the sense of: what.is treated’as a word in the writing system, being written with a space on either side) as the relevant:item, and counting the ratio of lexical to grammatical words. We then ex- press this .as.a.propertion of the total number of running words. If there are 12 lexical and 8 grammatical’ ms, this gives the proportion of lexical items to the total as 12 out of 20, which we:show as a lexical density of 60 per cent, or 0.6. In general, the more ‘written’ the language being:.used, the higher will be the proportion of lexical words to the total number of running words in the text. 3. ' DIFFERENT TYPES OF WRITTEN TEXTS. Writing evolves in response to needs that arise as a result of cultural changes. The par- ticular circumstance that led to the development of writing was the complex of events whereby certain human groups changed over from a mobile way of life to permanent settlement: from a predominantly hunting and gathering economy to a predominantly agricultural one. This en- abled language to satisfy a new range of functional demands. Writing was used for invoicing © ECOEM, S.A. — 902 930 870 — www.ecoem.es — central@ecoem.es Esta publicacién se encuentra registrada, estan reservados todos los derechos. Ni la totalidad ni parte de la misma nueda ranrndurirce 0 trancmitiree nar ningitin nencadimiantn alactrAnicn a mecdnicn inchwanda fataroniaInglés, Tema 06 (Secundaria) Pig? 0 eng trade, fer corn tus, fer aac Et ed sue se ota snd cl aes, cig ts ae or sig sate maar 2 nce fd come nt extn, tak over one ncn ht ha rei uy en Fes by snen igang: gous ey, ad rea Sires te. Spe poet, et preps Dearie wrt conn, bd then cae to asa ene Set woe as an po pnt tao gh Se oa {in of wt tas. And wing tok oer the mn trden oe arom ef ar Ionddge ecu eane nip bag posit of functional ype fs cou ce tt a bc sre. on rues ns stators: arc be ane ett 09. on foe ol oo pucuse, rcp; moos teva aro se Hs, rung Stpe dress a tne or! mans nan. es ner: tc 3 Primarily far intoomation;s. ">. Wiis pen nm fi rt ntfs mans Ney maui Sri a lg mage une rote che as eves la mer goceos ou toe here SY i magn Bi ip: tan beaks pty and ems; nnepspe ft in sues gues nung conoitegaer Ts desig wat woman ome fan, ese RE ene en ‘Texas be dasa i two ways capture ho "pacing ogre. The fit 2 coe Seiltroara cesseton tated ov fe cotter Hun ee oa, ‘sn teeies nbs uc os Jura racer txboc awpate eorat ‘tel EecurThesean 2 mize suber, a uatand Saeen whch ‘hes fet rematy aps wh tet tar as “Teas can abo be cst ard to th ain bjt a tenn ch 82 ‘aay ta anton. The We et ls sapnd on wh the mor var Nea 1o de imogne, et. earache Adin ace haoraue dure Wolo siecle ces speeds, 3, 98) dings We pes of fxs epee Sart ean rma sua tt an pag ob ores Inglés, Tema 06 (Secundaria) Pig. 2 ete anced ala ary havea marae tt 2) Wn ou man ron ss etabish sro, we Wl i eseritive tat Te outs nye to arg bata ere 8 op, we wl cme aos bn Srgumentative ext 9) Whar" ty fo ave sone heaton spout coating, we are bung on ‘xpinatory (ase ales expostny) text 9) fet ty, be ators rantn maybe bat of pat 8 opine ge ‘Sead ts we ly hese so nfm. £20 ype of tts darcy cian apes ich dsengch x Hap te rest ‘=a hep es caine tes man edo Tess crac Se Show te cg, ae Se oe ‘rerio Roatan | Saeco, extaratry Dee yes of tx can crane a et. A ove orn, mele sncigve wwe ae rar teeters fr ue 9 mane nay Pek ‘sein of flowed by an exons cnt a thn a Fron On th te Ng Sees af a cane ach yak tray Ea SH ay Seipust De ety oer 4. STRUCTURES AND FORMAL ELEMENTS. cre to ak aout he sce of writen tos one can aot dent points of ow Flay te Tele of acourse analy rvs wn Set oe te Payee LA SON _ meen ~ aiaigeoames AInglés, Tema 06 (Secundaria) Pag. 9 structure of any written text. The main problem in this kind of analysis of structure stems from the fact that there is still no agreement as to which could be the elementary units of analysis for the whole discourse. A number of such units have been proposed in the literature such as the (finite) clause, the sentence, various prosodic units, turn-taking, the rhetorical/coherence relation, the discourse paragraph, and the discourse segment. Some of them, like turn-taking , are proper of oral communication only, while others are applicable to written communication, too. There is, however, agreement that coherent discourse (multi-sentence dialogue or monologic text) is more than a sequence of propositions, just as sentences are than se- quences of words. In discourse, both explicit and implicit devices signify links be tences, between groups of sentences, and between elements within sentences, an A carry additional elements of discourse semantics. In discourse analysis, therefore, we* need to take disenuires ctruictire broadly, to. cover. all aspects of the internal organisational stric- ture of a discourse. Discourse structure thus subsumes notions.such as segmentation, rela- tions between segments (informational and intentional), anaphoric. relatiens, ‘modal Subordina- tion, discourse topic, thematic progression, etc. Selected approach formational and the- matic structure of texts are presented below. Secondly, another type of analysis of the structure of written texts depends on usage rather than scientific studies and involves widely adi spatterns for effective written commu- nication established as sets of norms. Depending on thé:type. of typology of written texts which we use (from the different ones presented in’ the pr art of this topic) we can talk, for instance, about the structure of letters (appligations,. isiness:/étters, informal letters, etc), the structure of argumentative texts, the structure ‘af jour ic texts (news stories, features, edi- torials, etc), and so on, providing the commonly"and often officially adopted rules for writing such texts. Some of these examples are.discussed below. 4.1. STRUCTURE AND..FORMAI COURSE ANALYSI LEMENTS OF WRITTEN TEXTS IN DIS- If we define writt texts as $i the formation of such” texts. which focused mich of their att and its formal ele r ples of discourse, we can try to find general rules for course. analysts try to accomplish this task and one of the fields ition’ is that of studies about the thematic organisation of texts ents, i.e. sgntences. Indeed, one: we of. describing the structure of a written text can be by means of the- , 4In text, the usual, unmarked pattern of information flow is for the theme to coincide with given information, and rheme to provide new information. Given information is that which the speaker/writer assumes is present in the reader/hearer's conscious framework. Information which is familiar or known is merely taken by the readers as a key upon the basis of which the following information is to be processed. New information, on the other hand, is that which has not been previously mentioned in the discourse, or is unpredictable by the reader/hearer. Dis- course producers, being aware of this fact, try to place more relevant information (relevant to their intended topic or meaning) at more noticeable positions in the hierarchical organization of a text or sentence in order to boost the addressee's ability to take up the message as intended. © ECOEM, S.A. ~ 902 930 870 — www.ecoem.es — central@ecoem.es Esta publicacién se encuentra registrada, estan reservados todos ios derechos. Ni la totalidad ni parte dela micma nuade ranrndurirea 9 tranemitirea nar ninatin nracadimiantn electrénicn a mardnicn. inchivenda fatncnnia. Inglés, Tema 06 (Secundaria) Pag. 10 In English, given information is usually placed at the beginning of the sentences (coinciding with the theme), whereas new information is usually located at the end (in the rheme), as in the following example: Q. Where is Mary? A. Mary's at the movies GIVEN NEW THEME RHEME (Alonso, 2003) Thematic patterning involves connecting sentences together in a way whi reader from the Given to the New. There are several main types of thematic patterning accord- ing to the different sequences of thematic and rhematic choices made throughout ‘the text (Danes, 1974). In the first one, the constant pattern, the same topical theme is chosen over several clauses or sentences. We can see this in the following example: (Alonso 2003) Urea is a very important chemical because of its industrial uses and its role on bio- logical processes. Jt is excreted in the urine as the chief nitrogen-containing end- product of protein metabolism. Jt is produced on a large scale and used as a fertilizer and raw mate- rial in the manufacture of urea-formaldehyde plastics and of drugs. Jt is usually prepared in laboratories from the reaction between potassium cyanate and ammonium chloride, which is basically a repetition of the Wohler procedure. Urea => it => it => it In this lab report, a rea, and thus repeats this theme in ail of the sentences, forming a con: Another possibility “is: theme, as the theme of a sul are in italics, an ething from the rest of the sentence, i.e. from the nt'sentence. This is illustrated by the following text. Themes erents which subsequently become themes are underlined): The early feminist movement was greatly influenced by works like "On the Vindica- tion of the Rights of Women" (1972) by Mary Wollstonecraft. She proposed a feminist agenda _wh aims _were_ to expose ion _of women from traditionally "male" sphi i litics, economics, education and religion, to take apart these structures, which denied women their deserved rights and attempt to achieve these rights for them in the male dominated spheres. These aims became a main focus for religious women in particular, at the time, in the United States. (Alonso, 2003) The early feminist movement => Mary Wollstonecraft => she => a feminist agenda whose aims... => These aims © ECOEM, S.A. — 902930870 — www.ecoem.es — central@ecoem.es Esta publicacién se encuentra registrada, estan reservados todos los derechos. Ni la totalidad ni parte de la misma ouede reoroducirse o transmitirse por ninatin procedimientn elactrénicn o mecAnicn. Inchivendo fatnenniaInglés, Tema 06 (Secundaria) Pag. 11 In this text about feminism, the author moves from the early feminist movement to Mary Wollstonecraft , and the latter then becomes the theme of the next sentence as she. Then the writer introduces the aims of the feminist agenda, lists them, and then goes on to make These aims the theme of the third sentence, and to develop a point about where these aims were important. Thus, the constant pattern provides more of a static text, which works well with descrip- tion, classification and often with narration. The linear pattern provides more of a dynamic text, which works well with explanation, as it allows writers to add to points by always moving from a given idea to a new one. Obviously, texts will combine patterns, depending on:the intention of the writer. 4.2. STRUCTURE OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF WRITTEN TEXTS. If we observe different written texts, we will easily observe that their layout,.the internal organization of different parts differs from one type of text to an = the typologies of written texts presented above (see Point 3), we can identify texts’ se. fori en follows a structure which is established in formal terms for the given type. For example,:the structure of journalistic texts (articles) forms part of what is known.as journalistic style:and it is frequently included in editing guidelines for journalists and contri utors to newspapers or news agencies (see topic 67 for details). Other examples can inc ditorial quidelines which all scientific journals publish in reference to the style of researc! to béfpublished by them. One of the most frequently applied text patterns in English. i ture of informal letters can vary, business lé! about what formal elements they shou whole structure. The example below.¢om: Not all social and busih exact conventional structured format as outlined below. A social letter, for example, w ily not include an address heading, an inside address or not include a subject line, a postscript or a notation. - ikés a balance between the conventional format and the writer's it for the reader to read a letter structured in the conventional low, slight adaptations are accepted. 1. Address * & Heading _This is the wi address. Business letters usually have preprinted letterheaded station- 4 ich contains'this information. An address heading is optional for informal letters. = : ao 2. Date=:.. ¥ This is the month, day and year that the letter is written on. 3. Inside’: aidaress | The recipient's full name and address. Generaily, informal letters do not include an inside ad- dress. 4. Attention With formal letters, the "Attention: [full name of recipient)" or “F.A.O. [full name of recipient” is placed two spaces below the inside address. 5. Greeting Also known as the “salutation,” this is the introductory phrase, “Dear [name of recipient].” Ei- ther a comma or a colon can be used at the end of this phrase. Today, a comma is more exten- sively used, with the exception of the use of a title only, not a proper name. (i.e. “Dear Mem- ber:”). In this case, the use of a colon would be more appropriate. © ECOEM, S.A. — 902 930 870 — www.ecoem.es — central@ecoem.es Esta publicacidén se encuentra reaistrada. estan reservadns tedas inc derechos. Ni fa tntalidad ni narte de ta Inglés, Tema 06 (Secundaria) Pag. 12 6, 10. Postscript il. Subject line A word or phrase to indicate the main subject of the letter, which is preceded by the word “Sub- ject:” or “Re:” (Latin for “matter”). Subject lines may be emphasized by underlining, using bold font, or all capital letters. They can be alternatively located directly after the "Inside address," before the "greeting." Informal or social letters rarely include a subject line. Body The complete text of the letter; the subject matter content. Closing This is the farewell phrase or word that precedes the signature and Is followed by a comma, (examples: “Best regards," “Yours truly,” “Sincerely,”) Signature The signed name of the writer. Formal or business letters include the full nami printed below the signed name and most often include the writer's title and/or profe _ignations. This is a brief sentence or paragraph introduced by the initials, “P.S.” (‘post scriptus,” Latin for “after having been written.”) It implies that the writer, having completed.and signed:the letter, had an after-thought. Although this is still commonly used in informal. is not widely ac- cepted for use in formal or business letters. : Notation Z Part of a formal or business letter consisting of brief words or abbreviations as notations. Examples: ae ; “R.S.V.P." (“Réspondez si! vous plait,” French for “Respond if you please”) The use of this notation indicates that the writer cts.the recipient to contact the writer with a “yes” or “no” response to the invitatio nded. ee e the letter. Often a corre- sponding address and/or phone ni rinted: ‘directly’ below this notation. “cc:” (“carbon copy”) These initials are followed by’a. name or column of names, indicating those people to whom copies.of, the Jeter are being sent. (One-sided inked carbon paper slipped between two pieces of' ’@S.once, the ‘method used for duplicating copies of corre- spondence, hence use =, ‘word “carbon” in this notation). “encl.” (“enclosure”) ‘Indica th something else accompanying the letter is enclosed. ms) Indicates that a person typed or even composed a letter on behalf italized ls are those of the author of the letter (Paul Lazarman). “those“of the person who typed or composed the letter (Rachel imion use for this notation is for situations where an administrative as- and/or.typed the final version of a letter that was dictated by his/her boss. “PL/rm” (initials of someone else... Th The lowerscase init cated Bs Further examples of different formats of written texts can be found in the sources indi- in the bibliography list below. NORMS GOVERNING WRITTEN TEXTS. Any text, in any language, exhibits certain linguistic features which allow us to identify it as a text. We identify a stretch of language as a text partly because it is presented to us as a text, and we therefore do our utmost to make sense of it as a unit, and partly because we per- ceive connections within and among its sentences. These connections are of several kinds: First, there are connections which are established through the arrangement of infor- mation, as described in the previous part, within each clause and the way this relates to the arrangement of information in preceding and following clauses and sentences; these contribute mainly to topic development and maintenance. © ECOEM, S.A. — 902 930 870 - www.ecoem.es — central@ecoem.es Esta nublicacién ce encuentra reaistrada. est4n reservadas todos los derechos. Nila totalidad ni varte de la‘ston, tare ae surface cnmactons cohesive devices) ich cenit are tans betwen pusns and eves, at theses to thecal ste, ese alo (Ste bee pps ed ont ey wh a re Faty, tre ae udering sear conmectons-eahernce-h al us to res ot a esa Fo Ce = Sey» oda, hs 1. Lv what el ed ney ae So ey ey" a 8 ‘eat rape" hol tay ron ey a ae 2. Gone gi he os, wich prs shal they ce nd wich Sl YF {i hry, cps wat ee cp en, 5. Crd en the prs hy ave ee tae ig aa ay a therm Shou ey deity rf to gh, Fem neste fh, Fromast kat porary ren sae og 4: atte ie ailing te ial i Sereda seas neta ee eam aaa “The solution to these problens-Rangs “the eters purpose whether he see Ria te, eater ames os Feige nlestebes pelea Saas: be teauprande afaister esc orm hot se sander ay essere the teen ts ete woo 1° eaten or tes losis beeen he ames ft) 2 rarer ites: eh Ik te Neos). 4: erdraty (e wrars tue to promine acabete on corer tt laa eee a een arg Suntec tht make treet sun) Imaoaualty (cor tat make ne se foe to deeret upon krone (Fore more reset encontrado’) ‘ere must so ous, aor to Seauance, AMATI PENCILS (a lo ng ent) acon tel carmncaton rater fan dene 1. henge he es epee of for uae fr emma, te ma a 2. ethene the onge the inpresion and the more favourable crore {or comaniaton 3 tet aves he more eect. 2 Aprprtnes te aye eves te sete and th ways in which he ean waa tues aa aE ‘so oy rogue sre ‘Sarton enna 6 ROUTINES AND FORMULAE. Mary tr al henshes of techniques ih have Deen develops nce to 3 ‘aw wt te ees fo communeate moe ier comes he ‘oad ra fe ore ee ung tr ape na. RON tron ores unr preoares ats trates They can be pd i ern yer eet eo wa no Sage tala Inge a fee anathema sac. A formula aod fom of wars Islas 3 omen or creo egress, Fema an shaw er ps eal ean aes noc tw mak dear he raion of at, vetan ngage pase routine) runs of ot pase (ermal) cepa on eye oe = a 18, tem ermal: Sparing: Bear 0s (sr) as Yeu sicenyJnglés, Toma 05 (Secundaria) Pig. 15 21, To'noaicaan pio: “my oe inmy os. ‘ram pat naan WO. Fiamars. 23, Tosrasne sy Tenn ‘incon, ‘Avery import aspect of acatene prose is eng’ Sepstny ae ett oe comments mad tr oboe chr is oe ‘marine bess ss rey, ton, cpa a ramet are, ‘Sigur acces inome ‘ef a sre of setae 2 Inari sees ki ihe rn ie th. Sect, ny) ray eg he cand pte To ec Ings, Torna 06 (Secundavia) Pag. 16 x BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES (TOPIC). + ons, 1 and acta, A “Inorg Ts Fowin EEL eter Campostons® I Thence TESL ual VoL Bo, esr 20, + Boer 0, tal 1888 Longman Grammar of Spten and Whiten Ens, ere Ss Loran Ser, MTS. omer Me iron and Nw Yr: Rte SRD, tal 1588 Langman Gamma of Spt and When Eh, an (Langman Sai HBG 1977, Petty and Language New Yer HB Dares F +) Tanto stnineerecpece a he Organ the “et BH, Dares (6) oon Rc avons Poe ge: Kae 579) Hay, AK 3885 son an nt ange, + ng She Pci na eT ew BIBLIOGRAPHY. + Ag ster, comet tay Cons Frain CORN, Si, + lps eau 1006 10035 tone roc tein C28 Se, + in Git Long. owen ce Boon 6 exp Freed ae ein Severe EM, Si 208, Et oe ECOEM (Pca prs Bb Me rue est. os ts os» Rice pur of Onset dee Econ Vos, anda E000, Sei OT + Weta cps. cca po Cut urdekin EOE, Sel, 207 + Big td ore 3 Pomc Pts on Cate Pann ECO, 2007, + Ui ae Vocus ie yan Caren Vat, Paamacines FamacinPotesona espns Fansaden ECON, sa, 0. + Waves viauer ery han capes Vase. La Prac Dake nf dan ECO, Se 58 INTERNET LINKS, + Me toe rp eta Fp: SEEN SE_ ITNT = men emene _ anos SA SD aEInglés, Tema 06 (Secundaria) Pag. 17 10. SAMPLE SUMMARY. Introduction. Communication in general is defined by the Encyclopaedia Britannica as the exchange of meanings between individuals through a common system of symbols. Language is such a system and linguistic communication can be realized in two different modes: speaking or writ- ing. Discourse analysis is the field which provides answers to most of the questions posed in this topic in reference to written communication, although there are also other fields which ana- lyse its different aspects, such as grammatology, the field of study which in i fields deals with writing systems in general (their evolution, differences, handwriting Written communication. Characteristics. There are numerous differences between oral and written.communication...The written channel offers its user both limitations and possibilities in comparison: oral one. For instance, writers can reflect upon the form of messages, their meai a, as they have more time to do so. On the other hand, higher accuracy is required in this case as writers do not get immediate feedback on the inconsistencies or lack of i Thesmost distinctive fea- written texts contain many more lexical items than or tics of written texts include: grammar: a . full phrases and clauses, without imuch*ell standard rather than e . longer and more com| ° lexis: y contain ‘explicit information about text organization (‘see below’, ‘as it has béen above’); and ritten texts are usually more fluent and less repetitive, especially in formal reg- Types of written texts. There are different possible ways of classifying written texts. The first classification which seems feasible is the one which is based on the functions of texts: ° texts used primarily for action: e.g. public signs, product labels, directories; . texts used primarily for social contact: e.g. correspondence, greeting cards; . texts used primarily for information: e.g. newspapers, magazines, advertise- ments; and © ECOEM, S.A. — 902 930 870 — www.ecoem.es — central@ecoem.es Esta publicacién se encuentra registrada, estan reservados todos los derechos. Ni la totalidad ni parte de la misma puede reoroducirse o transmitirse por ninaiin orocedimiento electrénico o mecanico. incluvendo fataconia. ious sub- . Inglés, Tema 06 (Secundaria) Pag. 18 . texts used primarily for entertainment: e.g. comics, fiction books, film subti- tles, games. Texts can also be classified in two ways to capture the “packaging” of genre. The first and more straightforward classification is based on the contexts in which texts occur, and re- sults in institutionalized labels such as ‘journal article’, 'science textbook’, 'newspaper editorial’ or ‘travel brochure’. The second is another classification based on the function of texts but this time the functions are not chosen by simply analysing the speaker's intentions but they are defined in relation to other linguistic theories, e.g. Adam’s theory of illocutionary force of dis- course. The resulting classes are: narrative, descriptive, argumentative, explanatory, injunctive. Structures and formal elements of written texts. There are different ways in which one can analyse the structure of any written text. Discourse analysis provides us with elementary units of discourse analysis which could serve for the description of both oral and written texts. Most authors consider:cla or sentences as such units. Next these units are analysed trying to find how inform nized in them and how coherence and cohesion are achieved in texts. The structures which ate discovered in this way reflect what is known as thematic patterning. It is a network of; relationships between clauses or sentences based on the information contained i in their themes and rhemes. Accord- ing to M.A.K. Halliday, theme is a structural ca lized by the first constituent of the clause in English (not taking into account any initial. r, such as however or probably); the remainder of the message, me is developed, is called theme. : ion flow is for the theme to coincide new information. Given information is that which the speaker/writer assumes is present: ‘veader/hearer's conscious framework. In English, given information is usually placed. at inning of sentences (coinciding with the theme), whereas new information is usually | located at the end (in the rheme). Any pattern which devi- ates from this unmarked‘one can be-employed to emphasize or highlight specific pieces of in- formation. If we analyse‘a; sample sentence, its structure would be described in the following way: : : In text, the usual, unmarked: pattem of ‘infor with given information, and rheme to :pro An answer. to the question Where does your brother live?” could be: references to “brother” by means of the pronoun “he”, thus creating a constant pattern in the:structure ofthe text. In this way, the theme of one sentence remains the theme of some others. But the author could also wish to deal with other related aspects. In this case, another possible pattern is a linear one in which the rheme of one sentence becomes the theme of another and so on. For instance, the continuation of the sentence above could be “It is an amazing city”, as New York is referred to as “it” and becomes the theme of another sentence. These two patterns and their combinations are the most frequently used ones in most kind of texts in English. Deviations from these structures could be found particularly in expressive texts, like poetry. While the above presented analysis of text structure tries to use concepts which are ap- plicable to both oral and written texts, another type of analysis can explain the differences in © ECOEM, S.A. — 902 930 870 — www.ecoem.es — central@ecoem.es Esta publicacién se encuentra registrada, estan reservados todos los derechos. Ni [a totalidad ni parte de la micma nuada ranrnducires a tranemitires nor ninntin nraredimiontn elertrdnien a machnicn. inchivanda frtnenniaInglés, Tema 06 (Secundaria) Pag. 19 structure among them. If we contrast different written texts enumerated in the typologies above, we would realize that their parts fulfil different functions and that very often they form structures which are standard for the given type of text. Such functional patterns for struc- tures are often made explicit and clear thanks to the layout of the text or the inserted subtitles or formulae, etc. For instance, business letters often have the following parts: heading, date, inside address, attention, greeting, subject line, body, closing, signature, postscript and nota- tion. Norms governing written texts. Depending on the type of the written text, norms for their production diff one can distinguish some basic ones which are applicable to all of them and they re way the information is presented in a text to serve its function. According to Halliday, texts should show continuity of two types: structural continuity (a division, into predictable parts such as the beginning) and continuity of meaning, which constitutes the texture of'a text. Any writer who wants his or her text to serve the communicative ion ascribed ‘to it effec- tively needs to ensure that these two types of textual continuity a tered for. The most important devices to achieve this purpose are cohesion and coherence. The former is under- stood as a set of linguistic resources that are used to link the meaning-cf one part of the text to another. They act on all levels of linguistic analysis: textual, syntactic, lexical, and pho- nological (e.g. deictic pronouns, synonyms, intonati ence in a text exists when one part of the text serves Propositions to establish coherence may be explicit orimi utes to coherence. another. The necessary ie whole, cohesion contrib- De Beaugrande defines a text as a communicative occurrence which meets seven standards, and specifies these standards assigning the.term constitutive principles to them. Some of them coincide with the devi sed'to ensure textual continuity in Halliday’s theory. They can be enumerated in 1. cohesion (grammatical-oFJexical relationships between the elements of a text); 2. coherence (relationships which link the meanings); 3. 0 i! attitude is to produce a cohesive and coherent text); 4. accepts the relevance of the message); 5: r to which the occurrences of the text are expected or » unexpected); 6. situationality. (factors that make a text relevant to a situation); and intertextuality(factors that make the use of one text dependent upon knowledge f-oné:or more previously encountered texts, also called “mediation”). . The constitutive principles, however, are not the only standards which text communica- tion.has to meet. Additionally, and following Searl’s indications, de Beaugrande proposes three so-called regulative principles, whose role is to control the development of textual communi- cation with texts which fulfil the seven standards mentioned above. The regulative principles, thus, are the following:1. efficiency-the less expenditure of effort used for communication, the More: efficient a text Is; 2. effectiveness- the stronger the impression and the more favourable conditions for communication a text leaves, the more effective it is; 3. appropriateness: the agreement between the setting and the ways in which the 7 standards of textuality are upheld. Apart from the above stated general norms for written text construction, one can dis- cover more specific norms referring to the ways in which cohesion and coherence of differ- ent types of texts are achieved in real communication. One of them is the correct use of rou- © ECOEM, S.A. — 902 930 870 — www.ecoem.es — central@ecoem.es Esta publicacién se encuentra registrada, estan reservados todos los derechos. Ni la totalidad ni parte de la Inglés, Tema 06 (Secundaria) Pag. 20 tines and formulae, which are discussed in the next point. Routines and formulae in written texts. Many texts avail themselves of techniques which have been developed in order to al- low writers and readers to communicate more efficiently by compressing textual meaning into a limited number of lexical items and organizing them in a specific way. Routines are more or less unvarying procedures used to construct texts. They can be applied to letter writ- ing, for instance, by organizing the letter into a heading with an address, the date and a greet- ing, the body of the letter and the farewell section. A formula is a fixed form of wards used as a conventional or ceremonial expression. Formulae often show the loss of their orig xical meaning. The following are examples of formulae for some of the different text types proposed... by Halliday: ¥ public notices: NO SMOKING, BUS ONLY, QUEUE HERE; correspondence: TRULY YOURS, DEAR MADAM games: CLICK THE BUTTON, GAME OVER; fiction: ONCE UPON A TIME. The use of routines extends to all kinds of texts and further examples include formulae for the different routines: Conclusion. les of syntactic or lexical examples only or they eCcific structures, which serves their communicative increases the possibility of our students encountering different text types!’ The teat 2, ‘then, is to provide the learners with guidance to better understand the meaning and functions of different parts of the text, identifying patterns of or- ganization and deciphering the exact meaning of formulae used. Sometimes a previous selec- tion of texts:in acc nce with student needs or skills can be implemented. © ECOEM, S.A. — 902 930 870 — www.ecoem.es — central@ecoem.es Esta publicacién se encuentra registrada, estén reservados todos los derechos. Ni la totalidad nl Parte de la