TEXT ANALYSIS Ph Dr Martin Djovčoš Ph

TEXT ANALYSIS Ph. Dr. Martin Djovčoš / Ph. Dr. Martin Kubuš

What is text? n Text is the verbal record of communicative event. It is an instance of language in use rather than language as an abstract system of meaning and relations. (Brown, Yule 1983) n Text is a complex semantic entity consisting of phonetic, morphological, syntactic, lexical and stylistic components, which carries a certain meaning and fulfils specific intention of the author (sender). (Djovčoš, 2008)

What is analysis? n Analysis is conceptual division of semantic entity into its elements, definition of its signs and their observation.

What is text analysis? n Text analysis is conceptual division of a complex semantic entity into its phonetic, morphological, syntactic, lexical and stylistic components and the observation of their relevance in the process of reception.

3 phases of analysis n Syntactic n Semantic n Pragmatic

What is synthesis? n Synthesis is conceptual connection of elements of subject or phenomenon into one complex entity. It is understanding and observing of a subject as one unit. n Text synthesis can be then understood as a conceptual connection of phonetic, morphological, syntactic, lexical and stylistic components into a complex semantic entity.

3 phases of synthesis n Pragmatic n Semantic n Syntactic

What do we analyse? n Extratextual factors n author or sender of the text n the sender's intention n addressee or recipient the text is directed at n medium or channel the text is communicated by n place of text production and text reception n time of text production and text reception n the motive for communication n the function the text can achieve

n Intratextual factors n the subject matter the text deals with n the information or content presented in the text n knowledge presuppositions made by the author n composition or construction of the text n non-linguistic elements accompanying the text n lexical characteristics – e. g. terminology, n syntactic structures n suprasegmental features of intonation and prosody

Prosody n 1. The study of the metrical structure of verse. n 2. A particular system of versification. -- [http: //www. thefreedictionary. com/prosody] 3 -- “The patterns of sounds and beats in poetry” Macmillan English Dictionary n prozódia n 1. náuka o zvukovej stavbe verša n 2. súbor jazykových zvukových vlastností, o kt. sa opiera veršový systém; KSSJ online

Notions of Cohesion and Coherence by Baker n Cohesion It is “the network of lexical, grammatical, and other relations which provide links between various parts of a text. These relations or ties organize and, to some extent, create a text, for instance by requiring the reader to interpret words and expressions by reference to other words and expressions in the surrounding sentences and paragraphs. ” (Baker, 180) It is an objective property of a language.

Notions of Cohesion and Coherence by Baker “Like cohesion, coherence is a network of relation which organize and create a text: cohesion is the network of surface relations which link words and expressions to other words and expressions in a text, and coherence is the network of conceptual relations which underlie the surface text. Both concern the way stretches of language are connected to each other. In the case of cohesion, stretches of language are connected to each other by virtue of lexical and grammatical dependencies. In the case of coherence, they are connected by virtue of conceptual or meaning dependencies as perceived by language users. ” (Baker, 218).

Main cohesive devices n 1. Reference/Coreference (the, this, those: „Mrs. Thatcher has resigned. This delighted her opponents. “(Reference is expressed using demonstrative pronouns, directly. ) Coreference is expressed indirectly. The understanding depends on the knowledge and experience of the reader. „Mrs. Thatcher has resigned. The iron lady leaves 10 Downing St. “) n 2. Substitution (My car broke down. I should buy a new one. ) n 3. Ellipsis (Have you been swimming? Yes I have. ) 4. Conjunction (and, or, also, then, next. . . ) 5. Lexical cohesion (collocation + reiteration)

Coherence n It is a network of relations which organize and create a text. It is the network of conceptual relatations which underlie the surface text. n It is a subjective feature of a text. n A: Shall we go for a walk? n B: It´s raining.

Cohesive text is not always coherent n I bought a Ford. The car in which President Wilson rode down the Champs Elysees was black. Black English has been widely discussed. The discussion between presidents ended last week. A week has seven days. Everyday I feed my cat. Cats have four legs. The cat is on the mat. Mat has three letters. (Baker 1992, s. 218).

Word Order and Information Flow n SVOMPT: Peter bought a nice car easily in New York last year. n Theme: „old“, known information n Rheme: „new“ information n Theme + rheme = information flow/functional sentence perspective

Functions of Language and Text n See the attached paper.

Poetry – what do we analyze? n Types of poetry n – narrative poetry (e. g. ballads, epics, ) n -- lyric poetry (e. g. epigram, elegy, ode, sonnet)

Sonnet – two basic patterns n sonnet – a fourteen-line poem 1. Italian (Petrarchan) – consists of an eight- line octave and a six-line sestet 2. English (Shakespearean) – consists of three four-line quatrains and a concluding two-line couplet

Elements of poetry n Voice: Speaker and tone “When we read or hear a poem, we hear a speaker’s voice. It is this voice that conveys the poem’s tone, its implied attitude toward its subject. Tone is an abstraction we make from the details of a poem’s language…” (Di. Yanni, 1990)

Elements of poetry -- Diction – The selection of words in a literary work (e. g. literal vs. non-literal language) - Image -- a concrete representation of a sense impression, a feeling, or an idea. (Di. Yanni, 1990)

Elements of poetry – image types n Visual (something seen – e. g. blue sky) n Aural (something heard – e. g. bird’s song, shrieking noise) n Tactile (something felt – e. g. rough skin) n Olfactory (something smelt – e. g. sweet scent, revolting stench) n Gustatory (something tasted – e. g. salty soup)

Elements of poetry n Figures of speech “Rhetoricians have catalogued more than 250 different figures of speech, expressions or ways of using words in a nonliteral sense. ” (Di. Yanni, 1990)

Basic figures of speech n hyperbole or exaggeration (“I’ll die if I miss the game”) n litotes or understatement (“This is no small problem”) n synecdoche (a case of metonymy) or using a part to signify a whole (“lend me a hand”, “call the police”)

Basic figures of speech n metonymy or substituting an attribute of a thing for the thing itself. Metonymy denotes a person or an object by using the name of another object which stands to the former in close, typical or representative relation. (“I want to buy a Styron”) n personification or endowing inanimate objects or abstract concepts with animate characteristics or qualities (“the lettuce was lonely without tomatoes and cucumbers for company”)

Simile and metaphor Simile n The heart of both these figures is comparison. n Simile establishes the comparison explicitly with the n n n words like or as. “My daughter dances like an angel. ” Simile has three constituents: 1. the on which is compared, comparandum 2. the one being compared to, comparatum 3. the element common for both of them, tertium comparationis

Metaphor n Metaphor employs no such explicit verbal clue. n “My daughter is an angel. ” n The angelic attributes are not restricted to the way she dances, they are more extensive, i. e. she may be nice as an angel, white as an angel, saint as an angel, or all possibilities mentioned above…

Symbolism and allegory “A symbol is any object or action that means more than itself, any object or action that represents something beyond itself. ” (Di. Yanni, 1990) To find out whether a specific word or phrase is meant symbolically or not (literally) may not be easy, it depend on our interpretation.

Symbolism and allegory “Allegory is a form of narrative in which people, places and happenings have hidden or symbolic meaning… In an allegorical work there are most often two levels of meaning, the literal and the symbolic. To understand an allegorical work we must make sense of its details by interpreting their symbolic meaning. ” (Di. Yanni, 1990) e. g. George Orwell – Animal Farm

Sound: Rhyme, alliteration, assonance Di. Yanni defines rhyme as “matching of final vowel and consonant sounds in two or more words. When the corresponding sounds occur at the ends of lines, we have end rhyme; when they occur within lines, we have internal rhyme. ” (1990)

For example: E. A. Poe – The Raven In the extract we can see the examples of both end rhyme and internal rhyme: Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. "'Tis some visitor, " I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door. Only this, and nothing more. "

Perfect vs. imperfect rhyme n Perfect or exact rhyme: tapping – rapping -- napping, door – more, n Imperfect or approximate: slow – law n Eye rhyme: put – but, food – blood,

Masculine and feminine rhyme “In feminine rhyme the final syllable of a rhymed word is unstressed; in masculine rhyme the final syllable is stressed – or the words rhymed are each only one syllable. ” (Di Yanni, 1990) -- door -- more – masculine rhyme -- dizzy – easy – feminine rhyme

See the poem by W. Wordsworth Exercise: 1. Read the poem. 2. What is the tone of the poem? 3. Find all the words which denote joy. 4. Find the instances of: Hyperbole, simile, personification. 5. Which type of rhyme prevails, feminine or masculine? Are the rhymes perfect?

Sound: Rhyme, alliteration, assonance “Besides rhyme, two other forms of sound prevail in poetry: alliteration or the repetition of consonant sounds, especially at the beginning of words, and assonance or the repetition of vowel sounds. ” (Di. Yanni, 1990)

For example – John Hollander’s Rhyme’s Reason Hollander illustrates these two phenomena with his poem: Assonance is the spirit of a rhyme, A common vowel, hovering like a sigh After its consonantal body dies… …. Alliteration lightly links Stressed syllables with common consonants. (Di. Yanni, 1990, p. 474)

Rhythm and meter “Rhythm refers to the regular recurrence of the accent or stress in poem or song. ” Di. Yanni, 1990)

Rhythm and meter “If rhythm is the pulse or beat we hear in the line, then we can define meter as the measure or patterned count of a poetic line. Meter is a count of the stress we feel in the poem’s rhythm. By convention the unit of poetic meter in English is the foot, a unit of measure consisting of stressed and unstressed syllables. ” (Di. Yanni, 1990)

Types of poetic feet “A poetic foot may be either iambic or trochaic, anapestic or dactylic. ” Iamb – an unaccented syllable followed by an accented one – “pre. VENT” or “con. TAIN” trochee – an accented syllable followed by an unaccented one – “FOOTball” or “MERchant” “… they are called duple (or double) meters. ” (Di. Yanni, 1990)

Types of poetic feet Duple meters “can be distinguished from triple meters (three-syllable meters) like anapestic and dactylic meters. ” (Di. Yanni, 1990) Anapest – two unaccented syllables followed by an accented one – “compre. HEND” Dactyl – an accented syllable followed by two unaccented ones – “DANgerous” or “CHEERfully”

Types of poetic feet Rising or ascending feet: iamb, anapest Falling or descending feet: trochee, dactyl Substitute feet: spondee – two accented syllables pyrrhic – two unaccented syllables

Bonus activity: 1. Read the lyrics of The sound of silence. 2. What is the tone of the poem? 3. . 4. Find the instances of: Hyperbole, simile, personification. 5. Which type of rhyme prevails, feminine or masculine? Are the rhymes perfect?

Bibliography: n NORD, CH. Text Analysis in Translation (Transl. of Nord 1988, n n by Christiane Nord and Penelope Sparrow). Amsterdam: Rodopi 1991; revised edition: 2005. Baker, Mona: In other words Di. Yanni, Robert – Literature Franko, Štefan – Theory of Anglophonic literatures Burgess, Anthony – English literature