Discourse Grammar: Shaping Meaning and Processability
The Grammar of Discourse
The fact that we have grammatical options helps us negotiate social relationships. We can choose certain grammatical structures over others to express our attitudes, to allocate power, and to establish and maintain our identities, among other things.
Understanding the choices people make helps us interpret their intentions. Several other areas of grammatical choice need consideration to fully explain appropriateness in usage. These areas are united by their involvement in
Read MoreCatalan Phonetics: Approximants, Simplification, and Sound Changes
Approximant Realization of Stops
When a stop consonant ([b], [d], and [g]) occurs in a syllable-initial position, it may not always maintain its full occlusive articulation. In certain phonetic contexts, a relaxation occurs, bringing the articulators closer together but not fully closing the airflow. This results in a sound that is longer and more approximant-like. The approximant equivalents of these stops are [β], [ð], and [ɣ], respectively.
While approximantization is a general phenomenon in
Read MoreHumanistic Discourse: Textual Patterns and Argumentation
Textual Patterns of Humanistic Discourse
The content that is often part of humanistic scholarly text and journalistic modalities such as manuals or books that teach specific knowledge about a discipline; articles of reviews of newspapers and magazines and essays, which are the main form of transmission of its contents.
The Essay
An essay is a literary genre in which a subject is studied exhaustively in the demonstration or justification for a thesis. It develops in a systematic mode, based on the author’
Read MoreDialogue and Expository Texts: Characteristics and Structures
Features of Dialogue
- Path of Return: Dialogue requires a sender and a receiver, with the possibility of exchanging roles.
- Dialogic Voltage: The motivation that moves two or more participants to establish a communicative exchange.
- Connection Tension: A starting point that allows for contact.
- Conformity Voltage: Maintaining a stable conversation without significant advancement.
- Silence: This is involved in the dialogue.
- Consistency: Every piece of information is connected to the previous statement.
Dialogue
Read MoreMastering Passive Voice, Reported Speech, and More
Passive Voice: Rules and Examples
The passive voice is formed using ‘be’, ‘being’, or ‘been’ + past participle.
| Tense | Subject | Verb | Object |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Present | Mary | makes | tea. |
| Passive: | Tea | is made | by Mary. |
| Present Progressive | Martha | is making | tea. |
| Passive: | Tea | is being made | by Martha. |
| Simple Past | Nancy | made | tea. |
| Passive: | Tea | was made | by Nancy. |
| Past Progressive | Claret | was making | tea. |
| Passive: | Tea | was being made | by Claret. |
| Present Perfect | Norma | has made | Tea. |
| Passive: | Tea | has been made | by Norma |
| Past Perfect | Evelyn | had made | tea. |
| Passive: | Tea | had been made | by |
Narrative Structure, Syntax, and Medieval Literature
Theme 3: The Story
Narration is explaining facts or fiction taking place in space and time. It is a short story, typically in prose. A story revolves around a single event and has few characters. The introduction must attract the reader immediately. The plot is much simpler than in a novel. The characters are not numerous, and the few that appear are not characterized in detail. The space and time where the story is located are usually very diversified. There are abundant descriptions and dialogue.
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