TEACHING ABOUT WORDS

1. TEACHING ABOUT WORDS Erika Lindemann Chapter 11

2. Lindemann Chap. 11 • Writing – second stage of composing • Constrained by rules • Disrupts flow of ideas • First draft = Final Draft • Good Grade

3. 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

4. Paul J. Hopper Grammaticalization • 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

5. 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”

6. 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

7. 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”

8. Paul J. Hopper Grammaticalization • TalmyGivon – 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

9. Syntacticization of Grammaticalized Constructions Looser, pragmatic modeTighter, syntactic mode Pidgin/Creole Standard language Child language Adult language Unplanned/oral discourse Planned/written discourse

10. Paul J. Hopper Grammaticalization • 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

11. 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: • Layering • Divergence • Specialization • Persistence • De-categorialization

12. Lindemann Chap. 11 Writers 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.

13. Lindemann Chap. 11 • 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

14. 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

15. Lindemann Chap. 11 STYLE STYLESTYLESTYLE “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.

16. Taylor Stoehr Tone and Voice 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. Lindemann Chap. 11 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”

20. 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 speech Synonyms/antonms passive voice Repetition, deadwood usage Clarity, specificity, detail word etymologies

21. Eleanor Kutz Authority and Voice • 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

22. 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

23. 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”

24. Lindemann Chap. 11 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