“A very big thank you to…”

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-279
Author(s):  
Isolda Rojas-Lizana
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Letters To The Editor ◽  
Contrastive Study ◽  
Communicative Intention ◽  
Politeness Strategies ◽  
Written Form ◽  
The Way

Letters to the Editor (LTEs) in the local press are a relatively formalised everyday genre in which readers’ opinions appear in a publication. In this article 20 Chilean and 20 Australian LTEs which contained the macro communicative intention of ‘thanking’ were analysed and compared with regard to the structural moves and Politeness Strategies (PS) they presented. The results show that addressers in both cultures follow a highly schematic way of constructing their Letters of Gratitude. This is evident not only in the sharing of most of their obligatory moves but also in that some of these moves present similar lexico-syntactic compositions to establish their limits. With regard to PS, the Chilean group showed the exclusive presence of strategies that acknowledged the role of the editor as a letter mediator directly. This suggests that the similarities found are genre-defining aspects. Conversely, the differences are connected to the cultural context of publication. The results also suggest that expressing gratitude in the written form may functionally differ from the way it is expressed orally. This type of contrastive study helps to identify both the genre- and culture specific aspects of discourse, which deepen our understanding of cultural, everyday manifestations and their realization in different settings.

scholarly journals Writer’s argumentative attitude

Pragmatics ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabrina Pounds
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Linguistic Context ◽  
Letters To The Editor ◽  
General Terms ◽  
The Press ◽  
Contextual Framework ◽  
Linguistic Level ◽  
Argumentative Structure ◽  
Pragmatic Dimension

This article deals with those aspects of language that can be seen to carry out a primarily “interactional function” in that they are used to “establish and maintain social relationships” (Brown and Yule 1983: 2 and 3). Such aspects have been variously referred to as performing an “expressive” (Bühler 1934), “emotive” (Jakobson 1960), “social expressive” (Lyons 1977) or “interpersonal” (Halliday 1994) function or, more recently, as performing the function by which “social roles and relationships are constructed” (White 2002: 2). In this article such aspects are referred to in very general terms as ‘attitudinal’ or as carrying ‘attitudinal meaning’ or expressing ‘attitude’. It is widely accepted that the interaction generated through language has a strong pragmatic dimension, that is, it can hardly be appreciated out of context. This article is particularly concerned with highlighting the significance and the all-pervasive nature of such pragmatic dimension in the case of the interaction engendered between writers and readers through the medium of Letters to the Editor published in the English and Italian print media. The following three questions arise: 1) At which linguistic level can specific attitudinal resources be identified and compared? 2) To what extent may the extra linguistic context play a role in the specific case of Letters to the Editor? 3) Are similar attitudinal resources and strategies used in the English and Italian letters? How may any differences be explained? In order to answer these questions the article firstly explores the nature of attitudinal meaning as outlined in previous studies. The second section focuses on the cultural context in which the letters are produced with particular reference to the role of language, argumentation, the press and the genre Letters to the Editor in England and Italy. The third section deals with the argumentative structure of the letters and the specific attitudinal meanings associated with the various components of such structure. The method of analysis is illustrated through examples from the English corpus. The main findings are presented and a comparison is drawn between the two corpora. The findings are further assessed in the light of the contextual framework set out in the preceding section.

Voseo in Montevideo’s Advertising: Reflecting Linguistic Norms

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph R. Weyers
Keyword(s):  
Public Education ◽  
Social Distance ◽  
Predominant Role ◽  
Politeness Strategies ◽  
Written Form ◽  
Commercial Advertising

AbstractThis study examines the role of the voseo, tuteo, and ustedeo in written advertising in Montevideo, Uruguay. Analysis of 133 samples shows a preference for voseo in publicity, although tú and usted are also present. While written voseo - with or without a tonic pronoun - has traditionally been stigmatized in public education (Bertolotti & Coll 2003 and Gabbiani 2000), its predominant role in advertising suggests an increased acceptance of that written form in public venues. The study examines the language of publicity within the framework of politeness strategies, which explains that written publicity uses linguistic forms that lessen social distance and power [-D, -P] for the purpose of persuading consumers to buy. As such, voseo is the preferred form of address in commercial advertising in Montevideo, appearing in 83% of the samples. Voseo also has a strong presence in non-commercial advertising, where it appears in 44% of the examples in this study, irrespective of any stigma attached to its use.

scholarly journals Luther and the Law in the Lutheran Church of Uganda

2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Enoch Ekyarikunda ◽  
Ernest Van Eck
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Christian Life ◽  
Lutheran Church ◽  
The People ◽  
The Social ◽  
African Context ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Way

This article investigates the role of the Law in the Lutheran Church of Uganda. It investigates how the Law is understood and lived among Lutherans in Uganda. Luther, the sixteenthcentury Reformer, understood and interpreted the Law in terms of the social and cultural context of his time. Luther’s background is very different and so much removed from the African context in which the Ugandan Lutherans find themselves today. Therefore, can the Lutheran Church of Uganda have the same understanding and interpretation of the Law as the Reformer? Is Luther’s sixteenth-century European understanding of the Law applicable to the current Lutherans in Africa, specifically in the Lutheran Church of Uganda? This article examines the social and cultural context of Lutherans in Uganda and determines how it affects their understanding and interpretation of the Law. The article aims to demonstrate that the social and cultural context of the people plays an important role in the way the Christian life is conducted. This article appeals to Paul’s situation in Galatians to prove this point.

scholarly journals Współczesny podręcznik - wybrane problemy ewolucji gatunku

2009 ◽  
pp. 269-280
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Rypel ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Basic Feature ◽  
Canonical Model ◽  
Communicative Intention ◽  
Adaptive Models ◽  
Culture Influence ◽  
Polish Language ◽  
The Way

The purpose of this article is to show how general transformations occurring in culture influence education, and, ipso facto, the change of a school handbook genre model. A textbook, similar to many other genres, is not homogenous in the intergenre aspect. That is why it is difficult to study the evolution of one prototype genre. Therefore, a canonical model of a Polish language handbook for secondary schools, as well as its alternating and adaptive models, have been chosen as the research object. It may be concluded from the comparative analysis of various textbooks that a basic feature distinguishing these versions is a communicative intention. Its change is conditioned by transformations in the way a subjective role of a student and teacher, handbook’s recipients, is understood.

Context Matters: Exploring the Influence of Norms, Values, and Context on a Māori Male Manager

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (10) ◽  
pp. 1182-1197
Author(s):  
Bernadette Vine
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Interaction Patterns ◽  
Male Manager ◽  
Team Norms ◽  
The Way

Adopting an Interactional Sociolinguistic approach, this article focuses on one Māori male manager working in an ethnicised Māori workplace and examines the way he adapts his interaction patterns in meetings where he takes on different roles. The role of chair requires being much more active than when simply attending as a member of the team, while the additional responsibility of “acting CEO” adds extra interactional obligations and expectations. Team norms are important, these being constrained by the cultural context, and the analysis demonstrates how the focus participant’s adaptation of his interaction patterns reflects Māori norms and the values underlying these.

MANUSCRIPT EVIDENCE FOR ALPHABET-SWITCHING IN THE WORKS OF CICERO: COMMON NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES

2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 498-516
Author(s):  
Neil O'Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Recent Work ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Consistent Pattern ◽  
Current Interest ◽  
Reliable Transmission ◽  
Accurate Record ◽  
The Way

Of the hundreds of Greek common nouns and adjectives preserved in our MSS of Cicero, about three dozen are found written in the Latin alphabet as well as in the Greek. So we find, alongside συμπάθεια, also sympathia, and ἱστορικός as well as historicus. This sort of variation has been termed alphabet-switching; it has received little attention in connection with Cicero, even though it is relevant to subjects of current interest such as his bilingualism and the role of code-switching and loanwords in his works. Rather than addressing these issues directly, this discussion sets out information about the way in which the words are written in our surviving MSS of Cicero and takes further some recent work on the presentation of Greek words in Latin texts. It argues that, for the most part, coherent patterns and explanations can be found in the alphabetic choices exhibited by them, or at least by the earliest of them when there is conflict in the paradosis, and that this coherence is evidence for a generally reliable transmission of Cicero's original choices. While a lack of coherence might indicate unreliable transmission, or even an indifference on Cicero's part, a consistent pattern can only really be explained as an accurate record of coherent alphabet choice made by Cicero when writing Greek words.

The adaptation of design thinking in auditing

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda MEIJER-WASSENAAR ◽  
Diny VAN EST
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Public Organizations ◽  
Design Framework ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Way

How can a supreme audit institution (SAI) use design thinking in auditing? SAIs audit the way taxpayers’ money is collected and spent. Adding design thinking to their activities is not to be taken lightly. SAIs independently check whether public organizations have done the right things in the right way, but the organizations might not be willing to act upon a SAI’s recommendations. Can you imagine the role of design in audits? In this paper we share our experiences of some design approaches in the work of one SAI: the Netherlands Court of Audit (NCA). Design thinking needs to be adapted (Dorst, 2015a) before it can be used by SAIs such as the NCA in order to reflect their independent, autonomous status. To dive deeper into design thinking, Buchanan’s design framework (2015) and different ways of reasoning (Dorst, 2015b) are used to explore how design thinking can be adapted for audits.

Suva Residents’ Views on Cancer, Diabetes and HIV in The Fiji Times

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Farzana Gounder
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Illnesses ◽  
Structural Reforms ◽  
Letters To The Editor ◽  
Medical Responsibility ◽  
Grassroots Support ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
Socially Relevant ◽  
Situated Approach ◽  
Significant Health

The burden of preventable diseases is increasing in the South Pacific Island Countries and Territories. In Fiji, significant media attention and national finances are spent on public dissemination of the modifiable risk factors of chronic illnesses. However, little is known about lay societal perceptions of chronic illnesses and of people living with these illnesses. This preliminary study takes an area-situated approach to lay knowledge and examines Suva residents’ moral evaluations associated with socially significant health concerns in Fiji. Using the case studies of HIV, cancer, and diabetes, the research employs content analysis to examine 144 Suva residents’ Letters to the Editor, published between 2000 and 2019 in The Fiji Times. The findings indicate that letter writers on chronic illnesses are power sensitive, interested in governmental responsibility, and aware of the role of stigma in creating inequitable health outcomes. The study’s findings locate chronic illness as not only a medical responsibility but also a social justice and human rights concern that requires a multisectoral approach, with community-tailored responses at the heart of all discussions. The lay-societal recognition of the three illnesses as being socially relevant suggests grassroots support for policies directed towards structural reforms for the prevention and management of these illnesses.

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