Features explaining the effectiveness of the spoken sermon and features demonstrating subtleties of communication of this manner will become apparent through investigation into the sound and structure of the recording
Introduction
The topic of religious language has many facets for exploration. The area of research for this coursework revolves around a recording taken in the due course of an evangelical church service. This section is known as the sermon.
The recording was drawn from the first part of the sermon. In this, the pastor, the leader of the service, set up the ideas of what the talk would involve and made reference to various texts from the Christian religion's book of authority, the Bible.
Parts of the transcription are spoken from notes, others from memory or improvisation, while other parts are read aloud from a written text. The differences between these are of interest as they incur changes and variations in tone, emphasis, speed, volume and other areas of prosodics.
Factors inherent to the type of language, audience and purpose will be the focus of the study. It will also be necessary to include comments on persuasion, inference and the overall aim of the sermon. All these will be able to be identified from the various grammatical, lexical and phonological markers.
I decided to use this topic as the basis of my work as I am interested both in the content of religious language and the transmission of such. I have spent several years hearing sermons by varying speakers and have found that the styles and techniques, although different, primarily result in comparable effects.
I expect that during the course of the study, features explaining the effectiveness of the spoken sermon and features demonstrating subtleties of communication of this manner will become apparent through investigation into the sound and structure of the recording.
The recording will hopefully provide insight into whether, and if so, how, religious language is employed to persuade the audience. The study may show if tone, pace and volume are designed to, or serve to, manipulate the understanding of those listening, or if the prosodic features are simply an inherent element of the specific type of language used.
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Sound
In the transcript, the sole speaker features a variety of phonologically relevant tools, intentional and not. Much prosodic variation is involved, giving rise to noticeable changes at points in tone, stress, speed and amplitude or volume. Each of these has an effect on both the meaning and the result of such language as is employed through these techniques.
Stress:
Right from line 1, the speaker, the pastor of the church wherein this speech is made, utilises stress or emphasis on key nouns in his utterances. "Mission" and "Kingdom", the two nouns in his chosen title, the Mission of the Kingdom. The effect of this is that the meaning is easily identifiable, clear and distinct. As this is the very start of the sermon, it is important to both the pastor and the congregation that the aims, objectives and context of the sermon are known.
Stress is a key tool that is used to emphasise the important elements of the utterances. In lines 2 and 3, there are three numbers stressed: "nine", "five" and "ten". It must be noted that "five" is not a number in itself, simply the latter half of "thirty-five". The emphasis on the second part, while drawing attention to the number - a necessary one to understand as it directs the hearer to the correct passage to which the pastor will be turning - does not over-stress the point; if both "thirty" and "five" were given attention in this way, a sense of denigration would perhaps be felt by the congregation.
In connection with stress, the determiner "the" in line 2, although not stressed in the usual way, is pronounced in a different way to that which might have been used had the speaker not been preaching. The definite article "the" is most often uttered with the short vowel as /??/ but here is found lengthened into /??:/, which elongates and thereby emphasises the word. This is most likely to indicate that a key word will follow; the noun to which the determiner applies is "passage", and shortly thereafter is reference to the exact passage from the Bible that is concerned in the sermon.
The abstract noun "priority" in line 27, which is repeated in line 30, is noticed by the stress attributed to it. The two nouns surround the priority to which they refer; to emphasise the first and subsequently the last gives greater weight to the actual meaning that is to be brought out from this. The emphasis does not seek to highlight the words themselves that are stressed, but rather in a complex manner emphasises those words that are not stressed.
The reason for the emphasis of "had" (line 30), the past participle of the verb "to have", is unclear, but with reference to the micropauses marked on either side this may be an emphasis stemming not from deliberate stress but from a gamble as the speaker finds his place in his notes, a gamble that the next word could perhaps need to be stressed. It does of course mark in itself the end of a particular section, which in writing might be a paragraph.
The final two emphatically stressed words, both nouns, are part of an explanation of what has come before them. The former, "God" (line 31), is naturally stressed as an important and integral part of the Christian religion; "truth" is likewise an important element of the faith, and as such could be deemed worthy of specific attention. The speaker is emphasising not only the words themselves, but that here was proof, logical reasoning to show the "truth" of "God" in what he has just said.
Tone:
Although much of the transcription shows very little evidence of change in this area, tone, it must be noted that where the tone rises or falls there is a significant and calculable effect resulting from a foreknown reason; each time this is employed the meaning of an otherwise inconspicuous utterance is expounded to an extent.
The first example is in line 7, where the speaker raises the tone of his voice noticeably at the innocuous verb "say". The reasons for this are at first not apparent, yet at further examination, the focus pressed upon this part of the sentence has a very real purpose. While the speaker is, of course, preaching from the Bible, using references from the Book and relating everything back to the passage in question, there remains an element of translation and explanation; although these things are not written directly in the Bible, this is what can be read into what is written. It is important for the speaker to identify for the congregation those part that are perhaps more subjective than others.
The use of raised tone in line 13 for "workers (.h) and immediately then" is a tool for facilitating the continuity of the words. Without the tonal link, some of the meaning might be lost; by raising his tone for the end of one utterance and the beginning of another, the two are joined together, reflecting the meaning of the words. The speaker makes a statement, and the response must be linked prosodically as well as semantically.
A dramatic lowering of tone can be noted at the numeric noun "twelve" (line 15). This seems to be an ...
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The use of raised tone in line 13 for "workers (.h) and immediately then" is a tool for facilitating the continuity of the words. Without the tonal link, some of the meaning might be lost; by raising his tone for the end of one utterance and the beginning of another, the two are joined together, reflecting the meaning of the words. The speaker makes a statement, and the response must be linked prosodically as well as semantically.
A dramatic lowering of tone can be noted at the numeric noun "twelve" (line 15). This seems to be an example of over-compensation for the higher tone used not long before. This ends rather deliberately the linking feature previous, freeing the speaker thereafter to make use of the same tool again.
Raised tone can also be used to show something new, something interesting or something that is optimistic. In line 21, the words "let's look" are given a higher tone than the surrounding words. At this point the speaker is moving on from his introduction and would like the congregation to be alert to the progression; it is at this juncture that he brings in his first point, and the higher tone denotes this.
The closing toned word of this extract of the sermon is "truth" in line 32, and is simply used to provide a dramatic and definitive ending to the section of the speech made. It is also a key concept, and as such must be differentiated from other words.
Volume, Resonance, Speed and Rhythm:
A selection of tools is used in addition to tone and stress, although not to such an extent. These supplement and complement the aforementioned devices. Again, each is utilised to a specific purpose, indicative of the complex speech patterns employed by preachers.
The rallentando, the increase in speed of the speech (line 9), comes at the end of a point; the speaker rushes to conclude this and moves on to the next. However, perhaps as a direct result of the speed, there follows a pause of two and a half seconds, the converse side to the hurry preceding it.
The concrete noun "heart", found in line 22, the first word apart from the indefinite article "a", is given a resonance uncommon to the speech. It almost seems that three syllables have been attributed to this monosyllabic noun. The word echoes back and forth, giving it deliberate significance.
Directly after the above, the phrase "heart (.) for the lost" is amplified. This, the repetition of the first subtitle to the speaker's sermon, is amplified for a number of reasons. Firstly, the speaker, as might not be identifiable by the audio tape, turns away from the microphone to look - thereby directing the congregation to do likewise - at the list of points displayed on the overhead projector. Higher volume is need for the voice to be recorded in light of this. Also, this proves the last repetition of the heading, and here the speaker may be ensuring to the highest level allowable that the entire congregation has heard and had time to note down what has been said.
"Every disease and sickness" is spoken in a discernibly more rhythmic pattern, each word being stretched or reduced to match that of its neighbour. This is roughly in the middle of a point that is being made, a section of speech, explaining to an extent this solidity and deliberation.
Phonetics:
An indistinct sound, /???????/, is emitted in line 19, prefatory to the words "all who". It appears that the sound is an anaphone of the words intended. The speaker stops and pauses for a moment before continuing after the vague sounds he has made.
The majority of the speech employed is standard in nature; the accent is that of Received Pronunciation. The speaker originated from Bedford, where this is the norm. However, due neither to accent nor anti-standardism, in line 31 the present continuous verb "testifying" is pronounced with the voiceless labiodental fricative /f/ replaced by the identical but voiced /v/.
Although it might be assumed that a prepared speech such as a sermon, by a longstanding pastor such as the speaker is, could be free of all non-fluency and rather be hyperfluent in his expression, yet the example is of a selection of speech representative of the rest of the sermon that is fraught with non-fluent pauses and seemingly misplaced breaths.
Throughout the transcript are marked numerous pauses, varying from brief micropauses to gaps of two and a half seconds. Yet these are not placed as haphazardly as they might appear. In many places they indicate a change of topic, tack or a break as for a paragraph in writing. This feature can be used as an important tool in conveying meaning and emphasis beyond the words or prosodics.
It could be said that these complex characteristics represent the characteristics of the speaker himself. Complex prosodics perhaps an indicator of a middle- or upper-class upbringing; sophisticated fluency an indicator of a well-practised preacher. However while conclusions such as this may be drawn, the accuracy of such conclusions remains in doubt.
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Grammar
Sentence types and structure:
The first word of the first line is a first person plural pronoun ("our"). From the start then, the pastor, the speaker, is being inclusive in his approach. The initiation of the speech with "our subject" denotes an intention to involve the congregation collectively in this, the deepest of spiritual edification, the sermon.
The primary utterance, whilst this extract is not the entirety of such, consists initially of the first half of a complex sentence of some length:
/our subject this morning is the mission (.) of the kingdom/
The grammar is standard and in line with modern syntax, with the subject being placed at the beginning: "our subject this morning" and the object at the end: "the mission of the kingdom". The verb that links the two is the present tense of the verb "to be" and brings the context of the sermon into the present.
The first sentence uttered is in full:
/our subject this morning is the mission (.) of the kingdom (1.0)/
/and I suppose in a way we could say that the passage that we read/
/together a little while ago from Matthew chapter nine (.) and verse/
thirty-five (.) into (.) chapter ten is really in a way the marching/
/orders of the church/
The sentence is complex, an initial concept such as the title or subject of the speech being premier in the utterance and subsequently diverging into various facets of what might be discussed in the sermon. The noun phrase "the passage that we read together a little while ago" is extensive, a key feature of middle and upper class English. The socio-linguist Bernstein noted that these higher classes would be more prone to speech involving complex sentence types, sophisticated vocabulary and hypercorrect grammar, while the lower working classes would speak more simply. He defined these differences as being between the Elaborated Linguistic Code and the Restricted Linguistic Code.
Adverbial phrases are evident in the extract, but occur neither at the commencement nor the conclusion of the sentence uttered. "This morning" is one such adverbial phrase and is included after the subject of the first half of the sentence, "our subject". Adverbials can validly be moved to a number of positions in any given sentence, and here no grammatical rules have been transgressed; by positioning the adverbial so, the speaker brings the complexity and sophistication of what is said to a higher level.
The second sentence also is extensive and elaborate, and begins with a pause-filler initiator, "now". Although this brings nothing to the meaning of the sentence, structuring the sentence around this beginning smoothes to an extent the flow of speech.
5 /now whilst a lot of the (.) particular points/
/of detail (.) that we have here (.) applied only to the first/
/generation of those disciples (.) yet we can say that the principles/
/that have been established here (.) are to be taken seriously by/
/Christ's church (.) throughout every generation/
"Yet" is a subordinating conjunction used to connect two clauses or phrases. It is commonly replaced in the modern day by "but", another subordinating conjunction. Adherence to the slightly more archaic terminology again highlights the ethos of church language.
In places, the sentence merges from active sentence formations to passive; in line 9, "to be taken seriously by" is a classic illustration of this. In context, the clause is "the principles that have been established here are to be taken seriously by Christ's church", and when put in the active format would be constructed so: "Christ's church is to take the principles that have been established here seriously".
The reason for this foray into the passive voice stems perhaps again from middle-class elaboration of language, or conceivably from an endeavour to highlight the importance of the "principles" as the main concept of the sentence, even while not the linguistic subject.
Sentences throughout the transcript are predominantly complex, and exclusively declarative. This is typical of an instructive speech such as a sermon, the purpose of which is of course to describe, explain and inform.
Although most of the sentences are grammatically standard, there emerges an instance worthy of note. In line 13, part of the transcript read, without break:
/Jesus is/
/declaring that to us the Lord of the Harvest to send out workers/
Whether the words are rearranged, or some are victims of unintentional ellipsis, this sentence is not standard and does not make grammatical sense. The sentence is divided into two parts: "Jesus is declaring that" (which initiates a reference to something that Jesus has declared) and "to us the Lord of the Harvest to send out workers" (which is what Jesus is said to be declaring).
In the former, there is a distinct grammatical structure. There is a subject, "Jesus", and a present continuous verb "is declaring". This constitutes a valid sentence and makes linguistic and semantic sense.
The latter, however, is where the focus of the investigation must be. In this part, there exists a subject, "the Lord of the Harvest" and there is an object, "us" and at least one verb, "to send out", and yet the sentence does not conform to grammar directly. The syntax of the sentence denies linguistic rules, yet the precise source of this example, be it of ellipsis or of merged syntax, is not easily apparent to the author.
The sentence seen in lines 16 and 17 consists in part of "the field (.) of the Lord of the Harvest that's God Himself (.) is not limited to Israel". The subject occurs first, then the verb and finally the object; this is standard syntax. However, in addition to this there appears an apposition of nouns, where the noun at the start of the sentence is repeated directly after it. "The Lord of the Harvest" and "God Himself" are one and the same, and the speaker is clarifying this for the congregation.
"The field of the Lord of the Harvest" is also demonstrative of post-modification. The adjectival phrase, "of the Lord of the Harvest" not only is post-modificatory of itself, but modifies "the field" that precedes it. Archaic forms represent this more often than contemporary texts or speeches, reflecting again the reluctance of church language to evolve with linguistic trends.
While softening of language, such as exemplified by tag questions like "don't you think?", or 'fudgers' as "this is the way it is, really", is predominantly a feminine realm, as the linguist Robyn LaKoff identified, here the speaker uses such softeners in places to reminds the congregation of the subjectivity of what has been said. These naturally do not occur everywhere, but solely after a statement that is perhaps more the opinion of the pastor than direct revelation from the Bible.
In lines 2 and 4 the softener "in a way" is utilised before the statement that the passage of the Bible that has been previously read is "the marching orders of the church". This particular phrase is used twice in this instance, and each time it is supported by a further softener: firstly "I suppose" precedes the former and secondly "really" precedes the latter.
The grounds for including this type of phrase, the softening phrase, can often be seen as the speaker disassociating him- or herself from responsibility for the accuracy of the statement, or to ascertain the opinion of another party. However in this instance it would appear more likely that the former is applicable if either.
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Lexis
With each utterance in speech, the type of lexis used, its complexity and the meanings conveyed by these have always been important indicators not only of what the speaker wishes to communicate to the other party, but also background factors including information about the speaker himself, the purpose of his or her speech and the relevance of these to each other.
Types of Words:
A varied selection of word types and forms is employed in the extract. Some of these are subject- or field-specific, others being archaic or simply unusual. The reasons behind this feature may be anything from the fact that the speech is occurring in a church to the concept that the pastor, the speaker, is middle class.
Straight away in the first line the speaker makes his first point that the sermon is to concern "the mission of the Kingdom". It is likely to be unclear to the outsider what precisely is meant by this enigmatic word "Kingdom". Moreover, the "mission" that is said to be "of the Kingdom" is again cryptic, unless prior knowledge is possessed.
Some of the field-specific words denote particularly the religion of the church wherein the speech is made; whilst it is already known to the author to what religion the church belongs, it is also highly evident from the field-specific nouns especially. "Jesus" and "God" are used at intervals, also "Christ" and "Lord". Further to these nouns are found such verbs as "teaching" and "preaching". The concrete noun "synagogue" places the religion's origins in Jewish culture and with the above in view it is possible to identify the church as belonging to the Christian faith.
The absence of overly archaic terminology rules out a traditional church, such as the Church of England, or the Methodists, and the absence conversely of overly modern language use rules out the Charismatic Movement, leaving the Baptist and Evangelical churches as candidates for the specific denomination.
While not particularly field-specific, the use of certain abstract nouns is inherent to church language. These would include "passage" when referring to a portion of the Bible (line 2), "chapter" in line 3 and "the lost" in referring to those who have not seen for themselves the blessing of salvation.
Most of the nouns are abstract in nature, being related to concepts of a more spiritual origin more than would be discovered in a transcript of everyday English conversation. Such applications of language to thoughts of "healing" and "teaching" and "priority" indicate to the receiver of the speech that the speaker's main emphasis is on those concepts not of the physical world but the spiritual.
A number of the specific words used in this speech are collocated to form clichés. This is evident in places such as line 28, where the transcript reads "the ministry of Christ". Familiar formations like this are common in church settings, as concepts that are referred to frequently will evolve a set series of words by which to be described for ease of understanding by the congregation.
Lexis denoting the Godhead or addressing Him is seen in this extract as being significantly and deliberately differentiated from those applied to mankind. "The Lord of the Harvest" is particularly a form in which we would not refer to another person. "Joe of the Harvest" simply fails to fit with the grandeur and majesty associated with being "of the [something]". "Lord" especially also shows special worth to God, and although this was once almost commonly used in the age of the feudal systems in this country, very few people now acquire or attain the status of "Lord".
Ancient or ageing function words may often be found used in religious settings, reflecting their long historic background. "Whilst" is now an archaic term, having been replaced by the non-standard usage of "while". It is unclear whether this is resultant from the speaker's middle class origins or an effect of preacher training; traditionally the churches have continued to utilise ancient words long after their meaning in society has diminished, disappeared or changed.
Deixis such as the term "those" in "of those disciples" (line 7) is exophoric in its reference. While the disciples here mentioned might have been pointed out at an earlier stage, this would perhaps not be necessary in any case. "Disciples" refers directly to the twelve whom Jesus selected to be his closest followers, as the congregation would doubtless identify. This field specific lexis is common to churchgoers and needs no further explanation by the pastor.
Semantics:
The above is a prime example of field-specific lexis or vocabulary. Its meaning is known and understood only to and by those who are regular attendees at a church or perhaps Bible scholars. In light of Christianity it becomes apparent that the "Kingdom" here referenced is in fact the Kingdom of God, which consists of believers, Christians.
Even concrete nouns such as "Kingdom" in line 1 can refer in fact to abstract concepts rather than simply the literal directed meaning. While a kingdom is usually tangible, it sometimes is not meant to be taken as such. The Kingdom of God, although a reality for the future, is non-physical at this time and must be recognised as being subjective enough to refer to either or both.
The pronoun "twelve" is used in line 15 to imply the disciples aforementioned. As the meaning of the word "twelve" intimates a quantity of twelve persons or objects, it is natural for the congregation to be expected to understand this as directly referencing the disciples, of whom there were for the most part twelve.
In lines 16 and 17 it is said that God possesses a "field" and that He will be the "Lord of the Harvest" with regard to this field. What is meant here might perhaps be unclear to one not accustomed to the language of a church; the field that must be harvested is the Earth, wherein Christians are called to bring as many people home to God as will accept the saving mercy of Jesus' sacrificial death in repentance and faith.
"Israel" is mentioned in line 17, a key location in Christianity as it is sometimes believed that God's children, the Christians, are limited to this area. At first glance it may seem incongruous and irrelevant to bring in this country with no introduction, but the meaning goes deeper than the physical area, as has been said.
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Discourse Structure
The transcript shows throughout that a logical argument is being presented, that cohesion is very much apparent and that the level of coherence is at a suitable level for the type of speech and the audience intended for hearing the speech. These are all valid features of a good sermon, and each will perform the same function, that of making the speech understandable and therefore functional.
Coherence and cohesion:
To begin with, the speaker states what will be the main thrust of the sermon, the overall title under which the speech will fall. This provides for the congregation a frame of reference and a context for listening to and comprehending the speech. Not only is the title right at the commencement of the speech, but also it is cohesively attached to the phrase noun phrase "our subject this morning" in line 1. This creates a high level of initial clarity, a result of years both of pastor training and preaching practice.
A device for cohesion is repetition, and there stands an example of such in lines 10 and 11 where "divisions" and "dividing" are used to link together the utterance concerning a division of chapters in the Bible.
Referencing:
Throughout the transcript there is evidence of linking back to the original concept that the speaker has proclaimed as the point of the sermon. In lines 20 and 21, the exact phrase "the mission of the kingdom" is utilised to anaphorically reference the first line, a tool vital if continuity is to be maintained.
In line 15 there is a reference to "the twelve", which links back to the word "disciples" in line 7, which itself is an exophoric reference to a specific group of the followers of Jesus Christ when He was here on Earth. Nowhere in the transcript is there mention of exactly who these "twelve" are; the words refer to something previously known or mentioned.
There is example of cataphor in lines 19 and 20 where "all who will come after them" is shortly thereafter identified as being "you and I", and although this is a non-standard use of grammar, it is now clear to the congregation what the exact meaning of the initial phrase was.
Substitution and Ellipsis:
In lines 15 and 16 it is seen that there is some substitution, where a long sequence of words has been replaced by something shorter and more economical and manageable to say. The end of chapter nine of the gospel of Matthew the speaker elects not to repeat, as this would be a substantial amount. Instead he inserts the phrase "the end of chapter nine" to symbolise the actual end of chapter nine, and relies on the memories of the people listening to recall and understand what is meant here.
All of the previously mentioned ninth chapter was substituted with an entirely different phrase, but also there is scope in speaking for simply omitting or ellipsing words to make the utterance shorter. In line 30 and 32, the "ministry that Jesus had" is reduced by way of ellipsis to "that ministry".
In line 13 the above occurs unintentionally when the speaker loses cohesion and omits certain words that may have been vital to the coherence of the statement "to us the Lord of the Harvest to send out workers". Without the words that have been omitted in this case there is little meaning to be gathered from what is said.
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Evaluation
My aims in this research were to attempt to discover to an extent how well the speaker communicated what he was trying to say to the congregation, what sort of tools he used and how these tools affected the audience. I hoped to cast light on how persuasive the speech was and perhaps how relevant the mode of language was to the purpose in mind.
It became apparent that throughout the short extract of the sermon that I had chosen to study there was evidence of a multiplicity of devices in existence to achieve the result desired by the speaker, the result of clear speech, a valid and structured argument and a mildly persuasive and intentionally instructive method of talking.
While it has been shown that not only are there flaws, as in any speech, with the accurate use of grammar and lexis, but that even some of the intentional tools, the more advanced devices, were inherently defective in that they either did not serve the purpose they were designed to serve, or performed at a lower level than had been hoped.
I found that there was not a great deal in the way of persuasive language or insistency, but a reasonable level of instruction and information for an audience such as has been identified, an audience predominantly of Christians.
Little of what was said was controversial and perhaps this was one of the reasons that persuasion was not utilised to the extent that might have been expected. A study of further sermons by the same pastor in the same church and under similar circumstances would be beneficial to the validity of this research as it would provide more of a context and a wider frame of reference for ascertaining the truth behind the levels of persuasion and drawing conclusions.
Each tool or device that I expected to find was occurrent in the transcript. This could demonstrate that my projection was in fact accurate, or that my research has been methodologically flawed if I have found features not occurring in the speech. It is possible that I have misinterpreted some of what has been said, or that I have written down the speech into transcript in an inerrant way.
It is obvious from what has been said, however, that there is at least a certain level of truth and relevance in what has been discovered concerning the nature of church language. I have identified a shift away from archaism, utilisation of tools such as volume and stress, and have seen that a middle class approach was deemed to be appropriate for the setting in which the sermon was delivered.
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