Discourse. Types of discourse

Discourse – the process of activation of the text by relating it to a context of use.

Much of what we read can be described as narrative. Narrative writing is characterized by its quality of telling the events in the order in which they occurred, that is, their chronological sequence. In a passage, authors cannot write about every event as it develops. Therefore, they select key events or ideas to highlight the development of the story, incident, article, or text passage. Recognizing that authors are selective in presenting ideas and events in stories, essays, news articles, and text passages can help the reader to understand the ideas that are important in the development of the selection.

You can better understand the special sequential relationship of ideas and events when you recognize the use of the flashback. The flashback helps to explain an idea, event, or character by interrupting the narrative with some incident that took place in the past.

Recognizing who the narrator is and the point of view or opinion the narrator expresses can give the reader a better understanding of the author's attitudes about people, places, events, and ideas.

Knowing the facts and following the sequence of ideas can help the reader to predict possible future actions based logically on ideas developed in the selection.

While in narrative writing the author emphasizes a chronological ordering of events or ideas, in descriptive writing he draws a picture for the reader by describing the characteristics, traits, or qualities of a subject.

Understanding a descriptive passage requires that we recognize how the author builds a description by listing the characteristics of the subject, that is, the people, places, situations or events, and ideas. Recognizing these characteristics helps the reader build a solid base of literal comprehension.

Authors use a variety of techniques when they write descriptively. Recognizing that an author uses facts and opinions to describe people, settings, situations, and ideas can help the reader to determine the author's point of view. A fact can be proven or disproven with evidence; an opinion represents the author's point of view and cannot be proven. However, the author can use facts to persuade the reader of the correctness of his or her opinion.

Authors often describe two or more subjects for the purpose of comparing or contrasting them - that is, showing how they are similar or different with respect to a specific trait. Recognizing that authors use comparison/contrast signal words helps direct the reader s attention to those comparisons and contrasts.

Analytical writing. Authors analyze people, places, situations, or ideas by naming common characteristics and by describing how the subjects are similar and different with respect to each characteristic. Identifying the characteristics and recognizing the stated similarities or differences helps readers to understand important facts in passages that present comparisons and contrasts.

Authors use facts and opinions to express views when they compare or contrast subjects. Frequently they present a limited or one-sided description.

When authors compare or contrast two or more people, objects, or ideas, they analyze their common characteristics, that is, the parts that contribute to the whole. When they compare or contrast two or more situations, events, or processes, they analyze the common steps or stages in each. And when they compare or contrast two or more places, they analyze the scenes spatially. Identifying similarities and differences between compared or contrasted subjects can help the reader to understand the special characteristics of those subjects. We can use our understanding of the subjects to make logical predictions about future actions and logical assumptions about the nature of the subject.

In argumentative writing, the author presents a point of view, that is, takes a position or a stand on a topic and offers support for that position.

Realizing that the author makes a statement and then offers support for his or her position can help the reader to understand argumentative writing. When we identify the causes that support a position or the effects of that position, we focus on the.important/cm in argumentative writing.

Recognizing that authors signal that the effects of a position will be developed as part of an argument helps the reader to focus on those effects. Some frequently used signals are: as a result, as a consequence, effect, it led to, etc.

Authors support their position statements by developing causes, effects, or a combination of both. Recognizing and distinguishing between causes and effects helps us to comprehend the important ideas in essays, stories, articles, and text passages.

Recognizing that authors use facts and opinions to develop a point of view can help readers to understand argumentative writing in which authors support their positions with causes and effects, any of which may be a fact or an opinion.

24. The noun/ the article and their stylistic potential

The Noun

1) Genitive case. inanimate + ‘s or phrase +’s (e.g. He is the niece I told you about’s husband). Aim: to create a humorous effect.

2) Category of gender.

a) Notion of personification.

Eg. “A baby” is usually referred to “it”.

The cat/ dog replaced by “it”.

Ship, boat, steamer are feminine.

Moon – feminine, sun – masculine.

Names of countries – feminine.

Abstract nouns which suggest the ideas of fearness, strength – masculine.

Feminine is associated with gentleness and beauty.

b) Phenomenon of de-personification.

3) Category of number.

a) the use of sing noun instead of inappropriate plural form creates a generalized elevated effect bordering on symbolization;

b) the use of plural instead of sing makes the description more powerful and large-scale;

c) abstract nouns used in the plural turn into countable becoming more concrete and vivid;

d) proper names used in plural makes us think of them as class nouns emphasizing the insignificance of mentioned people;

e) adj-s and other parts of speech are converted into nouns;

f) zoonimic metaphors – names of animals, fantastic beings receive metaphorical mng while applied for human beings.

The Article

1) The repetition of articles or absence of them creates a rhythmical effect.

2) The use of articles with proper names is stylistically relevant to.

3) The absence of the article before a class noun of the singular reveals the highest degree of generalization and abstraction.

25. The pronoun/ the adjective/ the verb and their stylistic potential.

The Pronoun

Stylistic function depends on the deviation from traditional denotation.

a) The indefinite pronoun “one” may be used instead of 1^st sing “I” which makes the utterance sound more philosophical, abstract and even polite. Instead of “one” pronoun “you” is used, in this case the reader is included in the situation.

b) In colloquial style the same f-n may be fulfilled by the noun “a man, a fellow, a baby”.

c) Archaic forms of the pronoun “you” are used to emphasize the dialectal character of speech or the official language of a lawyer. In poetic and religious style.

d) The pronoun “we” is stylistically relevant:

~ in scientific prose style instead of “I” to represent respect and etiquette;

~ in the lng of royal acts to manifest the plural of majesty;

~ to create an intimate atmosphere b/n interlocutors;

~ the plural of humility in the speech of uneducated people with purpose to identify oneself with audience or society.

e) The pronoun “you” when it stylistically important is used as intensifier in an expressive address or imperative sentence.

f) “They” may be substitute any real characters but has a generalizing meaning and indicates some abstract unity.

g) When the speaker uses “he/she” instead “I/we” it denotes a look at oneself from a distance which produces the effect of estrangement.

h) Demonstrative pronouns indicate the excitement of the speaker.

The Adjective

Transposition deals with violation of the rules forming the degree of comparison which deals leads to more expressiveness. The category is relevant only for qualitative, quantitative adj-s. The use if it with other adj-s result in transposition. Sometimes violation of the form may be used by the author as a means of characterization of a person; to convey a humorous coloring, when other parts of speech form the degree of comparison. A most – весьма.

The Verb

The category of tense and aspect.

1. The use of historical present to make actions more vivid.

2. The use of continuous instead of common aspect - to show irritation, doubt; - to emphasize the current emotional state, behavior.

3. The use of elements of faulty grammar is stylistically relevant and characterizes the speech as a speech of uneducated person.

4. Archaic verb-forms reflect peculiarities of dialected speech or give booking-flavor to the speech of a character.

5. Verbs of physical or mental perception do not have continuous forms, but when they do the sentences are highly emphatic.

6. The use of auxiliary verb “do” in affirmative sentences to emphasise.

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