Language and Power

Conversation 1:

Doctor:  Who’s in the house with you?

Patient: The wife.

Doctor: Just the two of you?

Patient: Yes

Doctor: Have you got any brothers and sisters?

Patient: Yes

Doctor: How many have you got?

Patient: Three brothers and one sister.

Doctor: Are thy all fit and well?

Patient: Yes, uhuh

Doctor: There’s nobody with blood pressure trouble in the family

Patient: No

Doctor: Or kidney trouble in the family?

Patient: No

Doctor: Do you know anybody with heart trouble?

Patient: My mother died when she was 56 with heart trouble. That was in 1960.

Doctor: Anybody else?

Patient: No

Doctor: Nobody else in the family?

Patient: Not in our direct family.

Doctor: Sure?

Patient: Not in the immediate family.

Doctor: Are you a worrier by nature, do you think?

Patient: Yes, I think I am. I think I actually I am.

Doctor: Have you had any particular worries recently, or are you

Patient: Well my sons living  in London and he’s not got a secure job, you know .I’m  not sure about him so – I know we shouldn’t be worried about him, he’s 24 next month, but.

Doctor: How many children have you got actually?

Patient: Just the one.

Doctor: Have you been worrying about your health?

 

The doctor’s questions, which look on the page like a barrage show he is in control of the conversation and the turn taking, this demonstrates power .He has the instrumental power because he has the knowledge, therefore the patient will happily comply with him co-ordinating the turntaking.The fact the doctor starts the doctor pragmatically implies he is in power. Topic management was directed via the doctor’s questions e.g.it changes from family to kidney problems, this shows power as the whole conversations content is decided upon the doctors choice. Usually the people in power will most likely being interrupting the other, but in this case the interruption only illustrates the patients worries not that they think they are in power, an example of a similar circumstance is a student interrupting a teaches for help, the student doesn’t have more power, yet the student still interrupts. The doctor also asks closed questions throughout the text ,  closed questions do not allow an elaborate answer therefore not allowing the other person to demonstrate power, therefore it is clear throughout the text that the doctor maintains power.

My first grouping of text is of A+D as these texts both attempt to  create imagery using various techniques. Both texts focus on children pragmatically, in text A the use of felt tip pens pragmatically implies the text is regarding children due to the fact it is a child's toy. Red is used in the text because it is bold and eye-catching,it could be interpreted as child's blood as the colour red may pragmatically imply blood , furthermore this creates the vivid image i was previously speaking about of the child being in danger as blood and danger have a very close relation. 

Text D also uses bright colours in order to catch the readers attention and create a vivid image. however in this text its to spark imagination instead of to spark shock, this is executed by whimsical characters, in this instance friendly looking pirates, this makes it easier for the child to transfer text into an image in their mind enhancing the experience instead of creating a interrogative atmosphere. Enhancing the imagery further is the manipulation of phonology, shown in the presence of the onomatopoeia "whine", a whine is not just a cry its an exasperating excruciating wail,  so to portray such a sound lexically a long vowel is perfect, as this elongates the sound and further elongates the word to symbolise such a long cry. An onomatopoeia allows the reader to not only picture but hear what is going on in the text, this allows a more vivid experience for the reader.

My second grouping of texts is text B and text F , I have picked these two texts because  there are a range of similiar linguistic methods used similarly throughout each.The use of short sentences is prominent in both texts also....

DO NOT HAVE TEXTS SO COULDN'T USE QUOTES

WM: Good to be with you.

P: Finally, finally, six years later, investigators are releasing a computerised sketch of a – who – we – they call possibly a suspect – er, or a ‘person of interest – a suspect that people saw around the vacation complex that night.

What took them so long?

WM: Er, er, I hope you don’t mind if I duck the – that question, because I’m not buying it.

I mean, er, I think this is more PR than anything.

There, er, in my opinion is no new suspect and there never will be a new suspect unless and until the parents answer questions.

Remember – Kate McCann, poor Madeleine’s Mum, refused to answer 48 questions –

P: Er, Wendy…

WM: Now they hired a team of lawyers right away

P: Wendy

WM: Ah, but this is important, she refused to anser – she hired lawyers straightaway. She refuses to answer 48 questions, things like: ‘What did you see when you walked into the room where your child was supposed to be sleeping?’ I mean, I’m so not interested in being dragged down a rabbit hole about a fake suspect. I think this is all related to a civil suit now under way in Portugal. The McCanns sued the former police chief for defamation,

P: Because he wrote his book…

WM: And now... Kate wants…

P: Wait. This alleged,

WM: Kate wants

P: Wait, Wendy, hold on, let me tell you the other side of this – er, because there’s a lot of evidence on the side of the parents being completely innocent as well. They say that the Portuguese police never took the case seriously. They never did the kind of investigation that we would certainly have done here in the U.S, - which is…talking to other people at the vacation complex where, where they were vacating in Portugal.

Further, Kate and Gerry, the parents, have appealed to the Prime Minister, David Cameron, for help on this investigation. Is that something you would do if you’re trying to stay under the radar? - and you feel guilty?

WM: Do you hire the nation’s biggest defence attorneys, PR firms and refuse to answer questions? The Portuguese police did a very good job – and the PR misinformation, especially in this country, is doing a disservice to this poor little girl who is dead, I believe – and has no voice.

The libel suit currently under way in Portugal is important because the McCanns sued that police chief, claiming he lied about them in his book.

Now Kate McCann wants to testify in writing – because she doesn’t want to submit to cross-examination.

I think this is all related to that - and this whole ‘new suspect thing’ is again part of them trying to distract attention from the fact that, as parents of a missing, probably dead child, what are you doing?! – not answering questions?!

Please!

P: It’s such a tough one, I – er – I - as you know, this has gripped our country, and Europe – to try to find this little girl – and when things like Elizabeth Smart’s parents…put out a book – and then she is found – she came home, you still have hope that maybe Madeleine McCann is alive and can come home – against all odds.

Good to see you. Wendy, thanks so much for your, er, theory.



Good to talk.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wendy uses many hedges and fillers whilst being interviwed , for example in the first question she tries to avoid answering , she uses fillers because she has to think about whether to answer the question or not  in case she is going to offend anybody.

There is also an element of turn taking amongst the two people, this is because it is a formal interview broadcasted by fox and due to the matter being relatively serious it would be innapropriate not to speak on the basis of turn taking.

.

Wilfred Owen

What passing-bells² for these who die as cattle? 

Only the monstrous anger of the guns. 

Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle 

Can patter out³ their hasty orisons.⁴

No mockeries⁵ now for them; no prayers nor bells; 

Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, –

The shrill, demented⁶ choirs of wailing shells; 

And bugles⁷ calling for them from sad shires.⁸

What candles⁹ may be held to speed them all? 

Not in the hands of boys but in their eyes 

Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes. 

The pallor¹⁰ of girls' brows shall be their pall; 

Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds, 

And each slow dusk¹¹ a drawing-down of blinds.¹²

The shells described via a compund sentence  - "shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells." -this is a phonelogical description of the shells , the emotive adjective "wailing" is sound imagery and it symbolises the emotion the soldiers are feeling of sadness as a wail is often associated with sadness .within the word "wail" are the vowels a and i when put  together these create a long vowel replicating what a wail would sound like as a wail is a long painful cry as opposed to short thereby further creating a vivid image of the soldiers pain and agony

The poem also has elements of onomatopoeia  amongst it, for example "rattle" this is vivid and allows the reader to visualise the sound of the rifles firing , the sound of a rifle firing is a short sharp sound and the short vowel within rattle mirrors this sound perfectly as it is also short and creates a sharp tone to the word and therefore making the vivid in the readers head.

"They ask me where I've been,
And what I've done and seen."


In this poem there is a rhythm,. but in the second line, the rhythm is delayed,  it is missing a syllable it should say "what ive seen" in order to allow it to flow correctly. This creates the sense that Owen is nervous or scared whilst this was written, it is clearly presented as a sensitive subject to the reader.  open vowels are used as well for example the double e in "been " and "seen", which extends the length of the words making the poem sound as if it is being spoken, furthering the effect of making the subject sound sensetive because if it sounds spoken it sounds more personal.

 

Fast food

Implies its fast “busy lifestyle” so you can fit it in.

Shows audience of businessmen “busy lifestyle”

“Real food” connotes freshness and it tasting nice

 

Connotes death and bad health as tumours usually results in some of these things.

Very strong connotation due to the extremity of the picture.

 

“Russian standard” Russians are rich so this quote connotes wealth things to do with wealth and things that are expensive are usually of better standard so this suggests the vodka is of high standard..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful, exciting, secluded, stunning. These are all descriptive adjectives used to persuade people to go to Canada e.g. secluded makes people want to go to Canada because people often want quiet holidays. The adverb snow-topped also serves an informative purpose which further adds to the persuasive effect of the text.