Investigating how language has changed in children's literature; in relation to interaction between children and characters of authority in a boarding school setting.

Contents Contents Page Number Introduction 3 Hypothesis 3 Methodology 3 Initial description of 'The Doctor' 4 Initial description of 'Miss Loy' 4 Initial description of 'Miss Potts' 4 Initial description of 'Albus Dumbledore' 4 Discourse 5 Grammar 5 Semantics 7 Phonology 8 Graphology 9 Speech extract from Tom Brown's School Days 0 Speech extract from School Girl Chums 1 Speech extract from Malory Towers 1 Speech extract from Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone 2 Comparison between extracts involving exchanges between lead characters, and characters of authority 2 Conclusion 5 References 6 List of Tables Table Number Name of Table Page Number Books chosen for comparison 3 2 Acknowledged frameworks 3 List of Figures Figure Number Name of Figure Page Number Comparison of sentence type in initial description of character 5 2 Number of adjectives in the initial description of character 7 3 Word count demonstrating conversation dominance 3 4 Number of adjectives in the speech exchange 4 Introduction Stories of children at boarding schools have always been a popular genre choice amongst both young and young adult readers. They emulate scenarios that children can identify with, more specifically the relationships between the students and their teachers/head teachers. As a result the language used

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Commentary for English Language AS. The article I chose to write was based on the influences of the media on peoples body images in the world today and how it affects many young teenagers in trying to fulfil this ideal image of a size zero.

COMMENTARY The article I chose to write was based on the influences of the media on people's body images in the world today and how it affects many young teenagers in trying to fulfil this "ideal image" of a size zero. My piece challenges a highly held view on the influential exploitation of consistent sickening body images and false fabrication to how people should look, leading to outstanding statistics in the account of teenagers being diagnosed with anorexia. My article is straight away hit with 3 different rhetorical questions which are used to help the audience think about what they are about to read, it increases persuasion and message processing, creating a relatively strong, resistant attitude in the reader to obtain a greater importance into the article they are about to overlook. Starting off my first paragraph is the use of a declarative sentence which just generally states the facts that the urges people have to feel good about themselves is highly disintegrating to virtually nothing. The declarative sentence is used to state a fact which allows the reader to feel like we know what we are talking about; making them feel that what they are reading is worth while and helpful in ways to carry on reading. Leading off my 2nd paragraph is again another rhetorical question, again to include the reader and make them feel more involved in the text. Within this

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Learning foreign languages is becoming more and more popular and necessary nowadays. The aim of the report is to examine this area.

To: Ministry of Education From: Robert Majchrzak Subject: Learning foreign languages among teenagers Date: 05 February, 2004. Purpose of the report. Learning foreign languages is becoming more and more popular and necessary nowadays. The aim of the report is to examine this area. I wanted to find out if people consider learning foreign languages easy or difficult and, which skills are problems for them. I was also interested in the reason why they want to study foreign languages, how they want to use them, which foreign languages they learn and for how long. Finally, I wanted to find out what the respondents think about the idea of creating one universal language for all the people in the world. My survey was carried out among 28 young people aged 17 - 18 years old. The respondents were both girls and boys (17 girls and 11 boys). All of them are secondary school students and they come from different social background. They live in villages or small town. Methodology used In today's fast - moving world the knowledge of foreign language is necessary. People, especially the young ones, should particularly interested in it. I wanted to find out what their understanding of this problem was, how they perceive it, what problem concerning learning foreign languages they have. The data included in this report was obtained by means of a questionnaire. Constructing the

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COMPARATIVE COMMENTARY -Malcolm Cowleys essay The View and When I grow old by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

COMPARATIVE COMMENTARY The first passage, "when I grow old", is a poem written by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings in 1929. It describes how she will be living when she becomes an old woman, letting the reader know that she lived a "hurried life" and had many "busy days", and tries to compensate those years by living in "wisdom" and "peace". This poetic passage shows the reader that being an old person can be a good thing and that we shouldn't be afraid of it. On the other hand, the second passage, which is an adaptation from Malcolm Cowley's essay "The View" from 80, written in 1976, shows a different panorama. This prose extract narrates the bad things about being an old person, such as, among others, health problems. It shows the reader how to know to realise if he is getting old and how his behaviour will be. Both texts share a general audience as they are directed both to children, adults, and old aged people. They show different realities that people can pass through, a good one, were you will live happy, and a bad one, were you will live with "aching bones". The purpose of the first passage is to transmit feelings and experiences in a positive way, were people ages in a peaceful environment; while the purpose of the second text is to advice and inform the reader how he would feel when he becomes old, expressing the harsh reality he will be facing. On one hand, the first

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describe the way english language stereotypes men and women

Task: Describe some of the ways in which the English language can be used to stereotype men and women Undermining Stereotypes involve generalizations about male and female identities and about appropriate roles and ambitions for women and men. Generalizations about women and men inevitably involve false assumptions as they counteract the diverse identities and personalities of individual women and men. Current stereotypes of men and women not only rest on false assumptions but also reflect and reinforce a male dominance. Some examples are "the hen-pecked husband," the "dumb blonde," the "court jester," the "evil landlord," or any of its several incarnations, such as "dumb jock" or "the village idiot." Many of these stereotypes are found to be offensive. The society plays a role in shaping and sustaining these inequalities. This reflects the "Sapir- Whorf hypothesis", which argues that the language we learn determines the way we view the world and the way people use different language perceives the world. We still live in a patriarchal society however it is gradually changing, women have a better perspective than then used to. There are separate adjectives used to describe men and women. If a man is muscular and very physically attractive you may portray him as a hunk, however you wouldn't use that term for a woman because it is a very masculine word. You may state that a

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Summary of "Critical period effects in second language learning - The influence of maturational state on the acquisition of English as a second language", by Jacqueline S. Johnson and Elissa L. Newport,

Psychology of Human Development 3054, Section 5014F 9 October 2001 Summary of "Critical Period Effects in Second Language Learning: The Influence of Maturational State on the Acquisition of English as A Second Language", by Jacqueline S. Johnson and Elissa L. Newport, Published by Cognitive Psychology in 1989, pages 60-99. The original paper attempts to focus on whether or not the ability to adopt a second language, namely English, also lies within a certain designated period which defines the period for first language acquirement as well. Johnson and Newport attempted to modify Lenneberg's definition of the original critical period (mentioned below) into two versions: "The exercise hypothesis and The maturational state hypothesis". The first version implies that the attainment of a native language needs to be rehearsed during a period in early life and the ability will decrease with age. However, once this has been accomplished, the attainment of a second language is quite feasible at any point during the person's lifetime. The second version implies that full native or even multiple language attainment abilities are present only during an early period of life and if this period is not utilized, learning of any language decreases with age. The hypotheses tested mainly focused on the effects of age on second language attainment. Two studies were done on immigrants

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The Color Purple

English Essay The color purple Extract - 142 - 143 In this extract, Nettie is the first person narrator. She is writing to Celie from the Olinka encampment. She describes a lot of the Olinka's beliefs and attitudes, as well as telling Celie about her relations with Corrine, and the children. She also describes the setting, she tells Celie about the hut, and the camp. One major idea presented in the novel is the idea of sisterhood. In this extract, sisterhood is illustrated between Nettie and Corrine; however, the extract does not emphasize the common view of women's attitudes at the time, and how they should stick together, but rather demonstrates the breakdown of this sisterly relationship, because of jealousy, one emotion that destroys bonds between women throughout the novel. Corrine is clearly bothered by Nettie, and the way she spends time with Samuel, and how the Olinka people see Nettie as Samuels's wife as well as Corrine, following their beliefs of polygamy. Another thing bothering Corrine is how the children look so much like Nettie, the Olinka think they are Netties. So jealousy breaks down the relationship, and this is illustrated by dialogue. Corrine confronts Nettie, and tells her they should call each other sisters, they should not borrow each others clothes, and the children can't call her 'Mama Nettie'. Nettie tells us she is bothered by this, but does

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Sequential and simultaneous bilingualism.

When the term bilingualism is looked up in a dictionary, (Collins English dictionary, 2000) the definition given is: "1, able to speak two languages, especially with fluency. 2, written or expressed in two languages. 3, a bilingual person". Nevertheless the reality seems far from being so simple. In fact, different features should be taken into consideration in order to give a more complete explanation of this subject. The purpose of this essay is to examine thoroughly these aspects, explain the controversy within the subject and focus on sequential and simultaneous bilingualism. To start with, although bilingulism is when an individual speaks two languages, there are disagreements on the level of fluency that is needed for the individual to be considered bilingual. Some researchers believe that if a person has any kind of knowledge in a second language apart from his native language, it does not matter if he/she is just able to understand, speak a little or just read, this person can be considered a bilingual. Macnamara (1967) agrees with this theory saying that considering one of the four skills (reading, listening, speaking, and writing), a bilingual person will have one of these skills even if it is in a minimal degree. On the other hand, Bloomfield and Thiery's (1978) theory defines a bilingual as the individual who possesses proficient fluency in two languages, being,

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When comparing the two travel based texts, the different ways in which each text expresses their key ideas and perspectives thorough language and presentation is critical as to how well they appeal to their targeted audiences.

English Language Controlled Assessment The travel industry in recent years has become an extremely lucrative and competitive market, with each travel operator having to try to promote their service in order to beat numerous forms of competition. Also, with the current financial climate, consumers are looking for the best value travel operators, so that they can still enjoy luxury outings, but will also seek the best deals possible to save money. Consequently, companies try to advertise their services in a variety of ways, to show the consumer why they provide the best value for money in relation to the quality of their services. When comparing the two travel based texts, the different ways in which each text expresses their key ideas and perspectives thorough language and presentation is critical as to how well they appeal to their targeted audiences. The purpose, audience and type of each text are very different, causing a significant impact on how they convey their ideas and perspectives. The purpose of the Rail Information leaflet is to promote and inform the reader about off peak train tickets, as discounted prices will result in an increase in sales during off peak times. The purpose of the article from Coach and Bus Week Magazine differs considerably, and it primarily tries to outline the problems of coach travel in terms of the quality of the hotels supplied by

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Exploring the genre and style of the Political Interview - Paxman and Galloway interview

Exploring the genre and style of the Political Interview Introduction Politics is an area in society which is accepted as an important aspect of our lives. It governs our country and, as a result, affects how we conduct our everyday affairs. Since the commercial availability of television, politicians have had the opportunity to express party views, promote their manifesto and justify controversial actions. Live interviews have allowed the nation to put forward questions they want answered, significantly progressing the basis on who we decide to vote for to govern our country. These interviews are perhaps most notable on Newsnight, hosted by Jeremy Paxman. Paxman became a presenter of Newsnight in 1989 and has since been a pioneer in the interrogative style used to unnerve his interviewees. This topic is of particular interest due to the nature of the interaction between a representative of the audience (the interviewer) and the politician. In many cases, it is evident that politicians adopt a tactful stance when answering questions in order to prevent perceptions and retain popularity. Interviews often gain entertainment value when questions are put forward that place the interviewee in a difficult stance, and more so when an attempt is made to divert the topic to suit the interviewees position. This is a typical method used in order to gain control of conversation, and

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