C) Analyzing the Vocabulary of a Text
PRESENTING A TEXT
Defining types of narration
The English language as well as any other language exists through its numerous functional, professional, dialectal and other varieties. The most important among them are functional styles. The functional style is the paradigm of language units of all levels serving to meet the needs of some typified communicative situation. From the viewpoint of communication the English language is subdivided into scientific, conversational, official, newspaper and belles-lettres styles.
This year we’ll deal with samples of belles-lettres writing.
The volume of the represented subject matter delimits two main subdivisions within the narrative prose – a novel and a short story. A short story is usually centered on one or two main characters, one conflict, one theme, while in a novel alongside the main theme there are several other, rival themes; several minor conflicts alongside the main conflict; rival characters alongside the main character.
The subject matter of a literary work (the sequence of events, character collisions) may be presented in the first person (I came, I saw) or in the third person (She came, Jane saw) singular and may have the form of a:
¨ dialogue
¨ narration (presentation of events in their development)
¨ monologue (the narrator speaks to himself)
Formulating factual and conceptual information of the text
There are two types of information conveyed by the belles-lettres text – factual and conceptual ones.
Factual information is explicitly presented in a text. It unfolds gradually and includes the description of facts, objects, phenomena, portraits of personages, landscapes, the development of events. It is linear, surface information which has time and space duration. It makes up the theme of a text.
Conceptual information, or the author’s artistic message, is a more complex type of information, as it is implicit and is deduced from the text as a whole. It makes up the idea of the text, and can be treated as a text deep message which must be understood and explicated by the reader.
B) Summarizing the Factual Information
Summary is a short account covering the main points of the text. It is based not on your personal experience and opinions but on what you have read. The task is to present the main points of the text in your own words without adding any personal ideas.
In order to make a good clear summary of a story you have to go through the following stages:
|
|
|
· Skim the original text and think about the author’s purpose and the main idea of the text;
· Divide the text into sections and think about the idea and important information that each section contains;
· Write a one-sentence summary of each section in your own words; avoid any evaluations or comments; expand on the information provided but don’t be too wordy;
· Add appropriate transition devices (logical connectors) to show the logical relationship of the ideas and to improve the flow of the summary;
· Go through the process again making appropriate changes if necessary.
What does a good summary need?
· briefness (writing a summary make it one forth or one third of the length of the text);
· variety of the vocabulary (do not copy sentences from the text, avoid formulating the ideas in the author’s way);
· main facts and essential information (writing a summary concentrate on the main ideas and the most important pieces of information. Omit examples, minor details. Stick to the essentials. Remember, you are not rewriting the text, you are summarizing it);
· use of the present tenses (though theoretically the summary admits of any tense form logically required by the situation it will be very much to your advantage to stick to present tenses as you enumerate events in succession. E. g. K. thinks that...; then she finds out that...; she decides...; finally she comes to the conclusion..., etc.);
· variety of phrases (writing a summary try to vary your language by means of synonyms, words of the same semantic group, etc. Use, for example, such verbs of saying as to say, to answer, to reply, to report, to add, to exclaim, to retort, to object, to suggest).
C) Analyzing the Vocabulary of a Text
The analysis of the vocabulary of the text presupposes compiling thematic groups and commenting on synonyms and antonyms. A thematic group comprises words and phrases, which have similar conceptual reference. Thus, for example, the names of furniture pieces, the names of food products, verbs of saying, verbs of movement, etc. The choice of these words by the author is predetermined by the subject matter the author describes.
|
|
|
Synonyms are words expressing the same notion, but differing by certain additional characteristics. E. g. to look = to stare = to gaze express the same notion of turning one’s eyes on smth or smb, but stare and gaze differ by their emotional colourings whereas look describes the notion generally, without any additional characteristics. The derivative meanings of synonyms are different. The meaning, which is common for synonyms, is called invariant meaning. Synonyms help to create the text images and the atmosphere of the text.
Antonyms are words with contrasted meanings. E. g. different – alike; love – hate, etc.
Like synonyms, perfect or complete antonyms are fairly rare. It is usual to find the relations of antonymy restricted to certain contexts. Thus thick is only one of the antonyms of thin (e .g. a thin slice – a thick slice), another is fat (a thin man – a fat man).
SPEECH PATTERNS AND CLICHÉS
¨ The text under discussion / study / in question is a piece of belles-lettres style, namely, an extract from a short story / novel …. under the title by the English / American writer.......
¨ The narration is done in the first / third person singular.
¨ The events of the text are presented in the form of the characters` dialogues with some insertions of the author`s narration / in the form of the author`s narration intermingled with the characters` dialogues. / The text represents the author’s pure narration. / There are some characters’ dialogues though the author`s narration prevails.
¨ The general emotional tinge / tone of the text is humorous / light / light-hearted / serious / grave / solemn / formal / reserved / pompous / personal / friendly / sentimental / playful / ironic / sarcastic / cynical etc. / The general emotional tinge / tone of the text isn’t homogeneous: it is neutral at the beginning of the text and then it turns into humorous at the end.
¨ The events of the text are set in…..
¨ The main characters of the story are ……..who are involved in …..
|
|
|
¨ As the text belongs to the fictional writing both types of information can be elicited from the text, namely, factual and conceptual.
¨ The factual information can be formulated in the following way / is as follows: the author describes an episode from the life of a married couple in which they are trying to plan their holiday / It`s the description of a young woman`s attempt to cook a holiday dinner and her attempts to make it special.
¨ In terms of its factual information, the text can be divided / falls into several logically complete parts.
¨ The conceptual information of the text conveys the author`s understanding of what real love is / The conceptual information of the text conveys the author’s (artistic) message to the reader, namely……
B) Summarizing the Text
¨ The 1st logically complete part introduces the reader into the subject matter of the text, namely an episode …;
¨ In the first logically complete part the scene opens up / is laid / is set … in Rome, where the main characters Peter and Susan live and work;
¨ In addition, the author (or his name) focuses on …;
¨ It is pointed out that / it should be emphasized that /t he author keeps the reader in touch with smth / the author sticks to the main point / it should be stressed that / the author intends to make the reader feel …/ the author focuses on / the author refers to / the author gives us a vivid (detailed) description of the events / the author renders the talk between…/ the author looks closely at smth ….
¨ The second logically complete part deals with / depicts / casts light upon / highlights / underlines / focuses on the description of / provides the information about / concerns / concerns itself with / renders the talk with / look closely at …;
¨ In the 1st / 2nd logically complete part the author introduces / points out / develops the idea of / stresses / emphasizes / passes over to the description of …;
¨ Further on the events unfold in the following way...;
¨ In the next scene we find the main character having a walk in the park;
|
|
|
¨ The scene that follows renders the main character`s attempt to explain the problem to his friend;
¨ The concluding part renders …;
¨ In the concluding episode John and Jane decide to celebrate their wedding anniversary in a restaurant;
¨ The text ends with the description of ….
¨ By way of conclusion / by way of summing up.
Adverbial Connectors and Parenthetical Phrases of the Following Semantics:
¨ addition: also, again, too, besides, in addition, apart from this, more than that, alongside this, additionally, furthermore, moreover, similarly, etc.
¨ contrast: however, nevertheless, nonetheless, still, unlike, on the one hand …, on the other hand …, on the contrary, in contrast to …, conversely, whereas.
¨ sequence: first, to begin with, second, secondly, then, then comes, last, etc.
¨ analogy: similarly, likewise, in the same way, etc.
¨ specification: in other words, otherwise stated, that is, that is to say, namely, in particular, in fact, etc.
Дата добавления: 2018-05-12; просмотров: 1741; Мы поможем в написании вашей работы! |
Мы поможем в написании ваших работ!