Field

Field refers to the subject matter or topic. Field answers the question: "What is happening?" "What is the activity?" We examine language project to find out its content and aims. The description of the content should be clear and detailed enough to give readers a sense that they have explored the site themselves. At this juncture we can begin to suggest how the content affects the vocabulary used. The field of a text tells you which domain of experience the text is about: family life, religious observance, law enforcement, medicine, etc. Field is an element of the experiential metafunction of a text.When analyzing a text for its field, you will want to examine:


• The lexical items.

The field of a text can easily be determined by examining the lexical words in the text, or even just the nouns. You will want to find and answer to these two questions:

Semantic domains: Which discipline do the lexical words refer to? Certain words are more common in one discipline than in another. You could prove this by corpus research, otherwise use your own intuition, specialized dictionaries, etc.

Because semantic domains are inherently hierarchical and overlapping, we may make a very general pronouncement (“this text is about science”) or a very specific one (“this text is about particle physics”). A text may also refer to more than one semantic domain.  

Specialization: How well known are the lexical words to a general audience and to a specialized audience?

• The process and circumstance types. For example, in a news text ‘about’ a terrorist attack, a large proportion of the participants will refer to terrorists and a large proportion of the processes will refer to acts of terrorism.

Diatype

Diatype:

Diatype is a term first used by the linguist Michael Gregory to describe a type of language variation which is determined by its social purpose. In his formulation, language variation can be divided into two categories: dialect, for variation according to user (eg. African American Vernacular English), and diatype for variation according to use (eg. the specialised language of an academic journal).

Diatype vs. dialect
Diatype	Dialect
Defined by use	Defined by user
Intra-speaker variation	Inter-speaker variation
Discourse community	Speech community
Field, tenor, mode	Geographic, social, temporal

The distinction between the terms is not always clear; in some cases a language variety may be understood as both a dialect and a diatype. The term register is often used in place of 'diatype'. The terms style and genre can also overlap in meaning.

Three variables of dialect are:

• Geographical: Where the speech community is based.
• Social: What social group/s the speech community belong to.
• Temporal: In what time (present or historical) the speech community exists.

Diatype is usually analysed in terms of:

• Field: The subject matter or setting.
• Tenor: The participants and their relationships.
• Mode: The channel of communication, such as spoken, written or signed.

The term diatypes has been defined as varieties of language within a community which are specified according to use. Depending on the nature of the community, a diatype could be a register or variety of the same language or a different language altogether. The only requirement is that the diatypes are different but constitute parts of the same verbal repertoire.

The use of any given diatype of such verbal repertoire is usually determined. The form of verbal code in use depends on the person/s to whom the individual is speaking, their roles and status relative to each other, the place in which the encounter occurs and the verbal function (reason) for the encounter.

• Gregory, M. (1967): Aspects of Varieties Differentiation, in: Journal of Linguistics 3, pp. 177-197.
• http://www.jstor.org

Dialect

Dialect refers to a variety of language that is a characteristic of a particular group or in a certain geographical area and has complete system of verbal communication, with its own vocabulary, speech pattern, accent, grammar and syntax.

A variety of language associated with certain social class is called ‘sociolect’ such as a socioeconomic class, an ethnic group, an age group, a working sector, etc. On the other hand, if a variety of language is identified with regional characteristics it is termed as ‘topolect’ or ‘regiolect.’

Since a dialect has a whole set of communication system, if the difference between two dialects are only in tonal patterns and pronunciations, the distinction is called ‘accent’ instead of dialect differences.

Moreover, social subordination is also being applied in defining dialect. If a language is supported by an institution, usually a cognate to country’s history, a certain language variety is then designated as the standard language and consequently minimizes the significance of other variety of languages. The latter are then termed as non-standard dialects.

General Roles of the Biographer

Biographer as ‘the researcher’ – Biographer carefully observes and investigates the subject of biography through different research methodology to establish facts base on historical accounts. These processes may include scientific methods to create a systematic organization and documentation – conceptualization, gathering of data, analyses and conclusion.

Biographer as ‘the interpreter’ – Biographer interprets data and related documents as it is based on the chosen concept and topic. Documents are not generalized but rather information from individual evidences was taken into account and the writer must be able to make an inductive abstraction from the gathered data. The writer then, with information at hand, will try to make wise commentaries in contrary with personal opinion.

Biographer as ‘the writer’ – Setting the diction of the literary piece is one of the tedious task of the writer. This defines the choices of words, the tone and the mood of the biography. As a writer, the biographer stands as the narrator of the events in reference to the documentation that he accomplished. This means that the biographer must be able to ‘paint the picture’ of a character using language as his medium of expression. The biographer must also be able to capture the emotion and stand of his subject.

Biographer as ‘the editor’ – Biographer’s responsibility doesn’t end in research and writing. As the conceptualizer, the writer also possesses the capability of discerning what is important and relevant to the flow of the biography since he has the total overview of the entire output, oversee the consistency of the style and remain unbiased in delimiting, revising and rewriting the piece.  To strengthen the point of a certain claim, the editor must also be able to identify and include documentations for the chosen topic.

Biographer as ‘the director’ – Modern biography doesn’t necessarily follow the standard flow of the narratives. With this, there are tendencies that readers might be lost in connecting and relating with the literary piece. Moreover, the writer might also have a problem in sharing the general concept of his work. As a biographer, it is also his responsibility to maneuver his design and concept so that viewers or readers will still grasp the general idea of the literary piece even though the standard follow is followed.

Biographer as ‘the manager’ – Like a new product to be launched or a new show that will be aired, the biographer stands as the manager and decides whether the literary piece is ready to be printed. He then check and counter check the completeness in holistic perspective base on the roster of gathered documents against the drafted output.

Register in Stylistics

Language Registers

Register in linguistics refers to the patterns of communication used in particular settings and for specific purposes. It is often an indicator of the formality or official nature of an occasion, or a mark of authority.

Linguists make the distinction that register varies with use, rather than with the user. For example, most people's speech contains pointers, lexical, syntactical, and phonological, of their class or social status. Such speech changes register when it is altered to fit an occasion, such as appearing in court or speaking to a bureaucrat, writing a scientific paper, making a business presentation, or interacting with an older relative or small child.

Register is marked by changes in syntax, accent or phonology, vocabulary, morphology. The study of register is commonly thought of as sociolinguistics, though it is also studied by other disciplines such as pragmatic grammar and stylistics.  

Register is also identified by non-linguistic markers, such as body language and attire, The term has been used since the 1960s, when linguist Michael Halliday identified three variables or types of factors that affect register: Tenor, Field and Mode

·         Tenor: The relationship between the speakers matters, such as when a student is talking to a teacher, an offender to a police officer, an office worker to a superior, or a parent to an infant (baby talk). Here register is generally a marker of formality or intimacy, and commonly affects phonology, pragmatic rules, and accent.

·         Field: The subject of conversation or discourse matters, as particular situations call for particular kinds of vocabulary, mood etc. These variations are often called jargon, but are sometimes simply the form of a particular profession. For instance, priests use liturgical language, lawyers use 'legalese'. Philosophers use the language of subjectivity or rationality, while programmers have their own lexicon.

·         Mode: The medium of communication matters, such as whether it is spoken or written, and if either, on the level of formality or professionalism needed to be conveyed. Instant messaging, for example, is less formal than a handwritten letter, and a professional presentation is different from a coffee shop conversation. Here and in register determined by field, authority and expertise is being conveyed as much as formality.

There are five language registers or styles. Each level has an appropriate use that is determined by differing situations. It would certainly be inappropriate to use language and vocabulary reserve for a boyfriend or girlfriend when speaking in the classroom. Thus the appropriate language register depends upon the audience (who), the topic (what), purpose (why) and location (where).

You must control the use of language registers in order to enjoy success in every aspect and situation you encounter.

1.      Static Register

This style of communications RARELY or NEVER changes. It is “frozen” in time and content. e.g. the Pledge of Allegiance, the Lord’s Prayer, the Preamble to the US Constitution, the Alma Mater, a bibliographic reference, laws .

2.      Formal Register

This language is used in formal settings and is one-way in nature. This use of language usually follows a commonly accepted format. It is usually impersonal and formal. A common format for this register are speeches. e.g. sermons, rhetorical statements and questions, speeches, pronouncements made by judges,  announcements.

3.      Consultative Register

This is a standard form of communications. Users engage in a mutually accepted structure of communications. It is formal and societal expectations accompany the users of this speech. It is professional discourse. e.g. when strangers meet, communications between a superior and a subordinate, doctor & patient, lawyer & client, lawyer & judge, teacher & student, counselor & client,

4.      Casual Register

This is informal language used by peers and friends. Slang, vulgarities and colloquialisms are normal. This is “group” language. One must be member to engage in this register. e.g. buddies, teammates, chats and emails, and blogs, and letters to friends.

5.      Intimate Register

This communications is private. It is reserved for close family members or intimate people. e.g. husband & wife, boyfriend & girlfriend, siblings, parent & children.

Rule of Language Use:

One can usually transition from one language register to an adjacent one without encountering repercussions. However, skipping one or more levels is usually considered inappropriate and even offensive. 

Source: Montano-Harmon, M. R. “Developing English for Academic Purposes” California State University, Fullerton.

http://www.genconnection.com

http://www.articleworld.org

Language Interpretation

General Definition

Language interpretation refers to the process of providing ease of understanding between users of language of origin and target language. This could take the form of sign-language, oral interpretation or technologically-assisted programs.

Interpreting refers to the actual process of providing ease of understanding from one language form into its actual or approximate equivalent. Interpretation pertains to the output of interpreting one language to another form (speech, signals, text, etc.)

Interpreter assumes the position of the person who converts thoughts or expression of a language form and defines its equivalent to target language.

Equivalence in interpretation refers to linguistic, emotional, tonal and cultural parallel meaning of a language format with the target language.

General Contrast

Interpretation	Translation
Takes a message from a source language and renders that message into a different target language.	Transfers the meaning of a language format from text to text
Interpreters take in a complex concept from one language, choose the most appropriate vocabulary in the target language to faithfully render the message in equivalent idea.	With ample time, translators use external resources (dictionaries, thesaurus, glossaries, etc.) to faithfully transfer the source language into the target language to produce accurate documents or artifacts.
Does not use verbatim in process	Attempts to reproduce source language in its exact equivalents of the target language
Call for accuracy is instantaneous as the process is actual and immediate (extempore, consecutive, chuchotage, relay, liaison)	Uses revisions and editing techniques to attain accuracy

Modes of Language Interpretation

Simultaneous (extempore) - interpreter renders the message in the target language as quickly as he can formulating from the source language while the source continuously provides input.

Consecutive interpretation (CI) - interpreter renders the message into the target language after the source stopped provided the information. The interpreter relies on memory and sometimes uses memory aids to render long passages. Sight translation - refers to the process of transfering the language as he sees it and usually done for legal or medical documents. Could also be classified as partial or full consequtive interpretation.

Whispered - interpreter sits or stands next to the small target-language group and simultaneously interprets information coming from the source language.

Relay -usually used when there are several target languages. A source-language interpreter interprets the text to a language common to every interpreter, who then render the message to their respective target languages.

Liaison - involves passing on the message through relay, between two or more, consecutively with the assistance of short notes as memory aid.

Forms and Styles of Biography

There are many forms of biography and essay biography and it can be classified depending on the period it was written. Religious and epic biographies were introduced in the Renaissance period. In the western civilization, there was a propagation of inspirational literary works which included biographies of saints, martyrs and remarkable kings of the time. On the other hand, during the same period, the medieval Islamic civilization introduced Prophetic biographies that featured various traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad – these presented the most historical information of his life and the early period of Islam. During this era, mass publications became popular with the introduction of paper in general population. Through this, a new genre entered the literary scene and termed as biographical dictionary – this contained massive but important social data of the pre-industrialized segment of society.

By the end of this period, writings became less religious and skewed on the principle of ‘humanism,’ – an approach in writing that focuses on human values and concerns.

The word ‘biography’ finally entered the world of literature in 18^th century. This also gave birth to the term ‘classical biography’ that pertains to the Grecian and Roman works of ancient times, ‘romantic biography’ for the literary outputs of the Renaissance era and the ‘contemporary’ or ‘modern biographies’ for literary pieces produced at the dawn of 18^th century until the present times. As used to defend reputations; classical biographies generally are discourses of accomplishments of Kings, tribe leaders, royal families and prophets. While romantic biographies focused on the lives of artists, authors and their works, modern biographies concentrate on the lives of celebrities and politicians – their rise to fame or otherwise; the lives of common people and their slice of life.

In terms of styles, AD 400 until 17^th century followed chronology or the order of events in order to narrate a life of person as a subject of a literary work. By the end of the 17^th century, Boswellian school of thought introduced the process of presenting documents as a way of emphasizing the subject in chronological order. 

At the time of linguistic revolution by the end of this century, formal linguists believed that biographers should be able to see their subject in a more intimate way, thus introduced the use of carefully selected anecdotes and incidents that characterize their subjects without giving focus on the order of events. On the contrary, new critics used romantic point of view and confessional styles with the use memoire format in writing.

At the turn of the century, didactic form of biography was introduced in the United States to shape individual characters and used for political propaganda. With the advancement of technology in publication, biographical sketches also appeared in general periodicals.

Mass biography and literary biography were defined in the middle of the 19^th century as a reflection of the social differences between high culture and middle-class society brought about by the worldwide economic conditions.

New century biographies, also called as new-age biographies emerged in1980’s as the need for social and environmental awareness escalated during those times and literature slanted on the principle of ‘common good’ or generality from individuality. Gender biography, Sociological biography and Anthropological biography are some of the products of this change. Another new-age style of biographies is scientific biography – literary works that aims to document the life and works of a scientist or a physician to aide the advancement of science. Psychoanalytical biography is an example of this type