TEACHING ABOUT WORDS
Erika Lindemann Chapter 11
Writing – second stage of composing
Constrained by rules
Disrupts flow of ideas
First draft = Final Draft
Good Grade
Lindemann Chap. 11
Principle One – words can change
Principle Two – writers view words in the context of other words
Grammatical problems student writers encounter
Words in context of a writer at work
Lindemann Chap. 11
Grammaticalization – two chief directions
◦ Changes in language/words/phrases which semantic and cognitive accounts of words explain changes in meaning
◦ Secondly, the discourse context within which the grammaticalization occurs
Paul J. Hopper Grammaticalization
Meillet – french linguist, coined the term to refer to the “attribution of a grammatical character to a formerly autonomous word.”
Meillet’s two processes in which grammatical forms come into being.
◦ Analogy – emergence of new forms through formal resemblance to already established ones
◦ Grammaticalization – “the passage of an autonomous word to the role of grammatical element”
Paul J. Hopper Grammaticalization
JH Greenberg – laid the groundwork for growing interest in pragmatics and discourse, which probed interface between structure and use and interest in language universals and exploration of “naturalness” in language
Greenberg established a word order based on the relative order of subject, verb, and object
Paul J. Hopper Grammaticalization
1970’s researchers were seeing the advantages of combining Greenberg’s theory with some long-standing observations of the Prague school of linguistics.
The Prague school showed how the notion “subject of the sentence” could be understood as the outcome of a process that began as “topic of the discourse”
Paul J. Hopper Grammaticalization
Talmy Givon – an important figure in the development and popularization of the idea that grammar was a product of change and that its forms could be attributed to discourse
He taught at the Linguistics Institute in 1976
“Syntacticization” of grammaticalized constructions out of autonomous elements
Paul J. Hopper Grammaticalization
Looser, pragmatic mode Tighter, syntactic mode
Pidgin/Creole Standard language
Child language Adult language
Unplanned/oral discoursePlanned/written discourse
Syntacticization of Grammaticalized Constructions
1980s and 1990s the nature of the semantic changes that accompany grammaticalization has been the subject of many debates
During grammaticalization, forms went from having meanings that could be identified autonomously to ones that contributed to wider discourse contexts
Paul J. Hopper Grammaticalization
In his 1991 paper, Hopper attempted to pull together what had been learned about some principles of grammaticalization. He focused on grammaticalization in its early stages. He aimed to provide a guide for identifying grammaticalization trends in discourse patterns.
The principles stated in this article were:1) Layering2) Divergence3) Specialization4) Persistence5) De-categorialization
Paul J. Hopper Grammaticalization
Lindemann Chap. 11Writers at work need instruction that capitalizes on what they already know.
Suggests helping students understand grammatical form and function of parts of speech, especially verbs and nouns.
Active and Passive Voice◦ Active voice more often used to make the
message more emphatic and less wordy◦ Passive sentences introduce the verb “to be”
Discussing paired sentences, students can identify the two voices and will be able to restore the passive sentence to the active voice
POINT: verb phrases represent complex grammatical constructions and their variety gives writers considerable flexibility in composing
Lindemann Chap. 11
DERIVATIONAL & INFLECTIONAL AFFIXES
The form and position of a word in a sentence gives information about its function
When new vocabulary is introduced, form and position clues enable us to comprehend the message without looking in a dictionary
Inferences of what the word means can be made from where it appears in the sentence and how it looks
Lindemann Chap. 11
STYLE STYLE STYLE STYLE
“characteristic means of expressing ideas”
The sum total of all the decisions writers make in selecting, arranging, and expressing their ideas
Word Choice
Helps create a writing style by selecting words that give ideas clarity, emphasis, specificity, and variety.
Lindemann Chap. 11
TONE - pervasive reflection; author’s attitude toward audience
VOICE – pervasive reflection; author’s character
A writer only has one voice, many tonalities
Features of diction, syntax, and rhythm allow us to recognize the writer’s voice
Taylor Stoehr Tone and Voice
Failures of tone
Confusion of audience Uncertainty about its composition Desire to address multiple audiences Mistaking self for audience
Cuteness, phoniness, embarrassment, pomposity, and indifference all stem from ambivalence or illusion as to whom one is addressing
Taylor Stoehr Tone and Voice
Example from a notice found on a bulletin board of a dormitory for Divinity students:
WHAT BOOKS DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR PERSONAL LIBRARY ??????
The author of the notice gave specific details of how he wanted the books listed, where to place your list, and gave very demanding instructions on how to assemble the list.
Not sure of audience Too authoritarian Too many specific rules Elaborate instructions Convenience for author Efficiency of the system
Taylor Stoehr Tone and Voice
Students need opportunity to explore stylistic choices
Good writing affects the ear, mouth and eyes
Ask questions about how examples affects their senses
Freewrite examining the styles discussed using a simple idea “I failed the class”
Lindemann Chap. 11
Flexibility in written English
Tone of voice Stylistic revision clarifies questions student’s
ask of their writing
Concrete/abstract diction parts of speechSynonyms/antonms passive voiceRepetition, deadwood usageClarity, specificity, detail word etymologies
Lindemann Chap. 11
Studying school and classroom culture Teaching students to become actively
involved in their learning (Groden, Kuth, and Zamel 1987; Heath 1983)
Ethnographic research can give learners the basis for understanding that is rooted in personal knowledge
Kutz is a teacher of composition and literature, English methods, and graduate theory courses
Eleanor Kutz Authority and Voice
Uses ethnographic methods to foster active and conscious learning for freshmen to provide a critical perspective on the nature of knowledge and the discourse it represents to understand voice, authority and point of view
Voice – represents the individual subjective consciousness
Quality of voice in writing – personal/genuine
Eleanor Kutz Authority and Voice
Peter Elbow – Writing with Power
“feel the reality of the person in the words”
“real voice” with “sounding like our real self”
Eleanor Kutz Authority and Voice
Suggestions for teaching students about language
Begin discussions by uncovering student’s prior knowledge
Listen for misinformation or confusion Base discussions of language on student’s
writing Use as few technical terms as possible Students need practice creating their own
discourse
Lindemann Chap. 11