*Range of points needed
*Variation in Paragraph Length
*Range of terms, including speech terms
*Theories to include
*COMPARISONS to other text.
Remember, this is only a TEXT A comparison. I will try to write the rest of it later on if I have time.
This took 15 minutes to write...so the whole thing would take me around 30 minutes.
This is to prove that it is possible! Have faith.
here it is...
"
Text A is a transcript between a famous ex-footballer and
his mother, which I imagine would be partially pre-scripted as it is for TV
broadcast. Within the exchange, we see both parties using spoken language
techniques to identify family members and to recount memories which are
relevant to the celebrity’s career, often over-explaining, which shows that
this has been partially set up for the entertainment of the viewing audience.
It is clear that the two speakers have been instructed to
ensure that they clarify certain aspects of their family life for the purpose
of the viewers, visible where M says ‘my favourite picture of your father’. The emphatic stress placed on
the noun ‘father’, and the determiner ‘your’ sound unnatural as it would be
clear that Barnes would already know who is in the picture, but she is
clarifying it for the viewers. We see a similar example when she says ‘you used
to play a lot of football there’. The use of the second person pronoun ‘you’
and the phrasal verb ‘used to’ is again an odd inclusion as Barnes would
already have this recollection. This seems to have a secondary purpose to
inform the viewers of the origins of Barnes’ footballing career. This is
dissimilar to text B where F actually refers to C’s mother as ‘little Norma’ –
the proper noun reflecting a shared understanding only between family members.
The fact that JB is famous as a footballer is reflected in
the edited subject matter of the exchange in Text A, with M focussing on
Barnes’ footballing as a child and her declaration that he ‘had a good place
coz [he] could run up and down’. The verb ‘run’ and adverbial phrase ‘up and
down’ shows that he was an active and athletic child and hints that he was
always destined to become a sportsman. Barnes also reflect how different life
was for him compared to children living in the UK as he mentions ‘we had eighty
mangos in the garden’. The enumerator ‘eighty’ and relatively low-frequency
plural noun ‘mangos’ shows that Barnes lived in exotic surroundings, and this
would seem odd or alien to the majority of BBC1 viewers who would have grown up
in a much colder climate. This is similar to Text B where F focusses on the
rural lifestyle he and his siblings enjoyed as children, and the trouble this
got them into.
An element of humour is introduced in the text where the two
speakers discuss how inappropriate the father’s gifts of a ‘woolly bath robe’
and a ‘big sweater’ were for their ‘hundred degree’ climate. The premodifying
adjectives ‘big’ and ‘woolly’, juxtaposed with the enumerator ‘hundred’ shows
how ill-thought-out the gifts were and categorise him as a rather dim
individual, thus entertaining the audience.
Barnes attempts to add context to his arrival in the UK by
claiming, ‘some of us who were deserted (2) stayed longer.’ It is clear that
Barnes delivers this accusation with a humourous tone due to the massively
hyperbolic past participle verb ‘deserted’ which is followed by an unvoiced
timed pause for comic effect. The use of paralinguistic features by the mother
‘[laughs]’ shows that this is taken in good humour and is merely an inclusion
to show how JB ended up being here for so long.
It is clear that the exchange has been edited to appear
spontaneous and emotive. In a more formal situation, we might expect that there
would be lots of interrogatives and more obvious adjacency pairs, but these are
lacking from this exchange, except for later in he transcript when M asks ‘you
remember much about him? (his grandfather). Here, the elliptical interrogative
containing the adverb ‘much’ is used to chow that JB has gaps in his family
memory which the show will help to fill. Throughout the exchange, we see lots
of playful and relaxed interruptions by both speakers. Whilst this could be
seen as a struggle for power in other situations, here it merely reflects their
close relationship as family members. However, in terms of Fairclough’s
features of dominance, JB is allowed to speak more, perhaps reflecting the
wishes of the directors who would want to hear his insight on matters as the
subject of the show. This is different to Text B where F allows C to interrupt
him in order to keep her interest in the conversation.
A purpose to inform the viewers that Barnes’ family is
perhaps far more prestigious than they might expect is fulfilled through the
inclusion of a description of JB’s grandfather, Frank Hill. M’s assertion that
‘he was like an indoor kinda guy’ creates a humourous tone through the mixed
formality of the hedge ‘kinda’ to mimic Barnes’ earlier comment about himself.
The colloquial noun phrase ‘indoor kinda guy’ proves that Frank Hill was
studious and intelligent. The importance of him as a figure is represented by
the mention of a ‘bust of Frank’. The concrete noun ‘bust’ connotes he must
have been a figure of some repute. JB’s backchanneling during this section,
‘mmm’ and ‘yes’ implies that he is impressed and proud to hear about this
significant member of his family who was ‘Chairman of the National Heritage
Trust’ – the compound noun ‘chairman’ signifying his huge importance, thus
entertaining the audience."
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