Analysis of ‘’Nora’s First Job’’ in relation to Language and Gender

Analysis of ‘’Nora’s First Job’’ in relation to Language and Gender

 

1)      With detailed reference to Text H and to relevant ideas from language study, explore how language is used to represent gender.

 

Text H is a third person narrative written in the 1960’ about a woman named Nora and her job, from this we can assume that the main target audience are young females who might be able to relate to Nora’s experience. Like most narrative the primary purpose of text H is to entertain.

During the opening we meet two potential main characters of this story: Nora Robinson and Lisette Alexander; through the use of verbs, adjectives and lexical field of fashion the author uses both women to represent each gender. Nora Robinson is said to be wearing ‘’new-high heeled shoes, new tan-coloured suit and a gay little hat.’’ The adjective ‘’new’’ is used as a pre-modifier to describe her clothes, this shows that she might have bought her clothes specifically for this occasion and is therefore making a lot of effort. From the title we can assume that Nora did this because she badly wants the job, the audience might find this relatable as maybe they might have been in this situation before. The adjective ‘’gay’’ when describing the hat could also be seen as a representation as to what Nora herself is like as a person: happy, carefree and bubbly, because of the age of the narrative this might have been the standard expectation of women back then. ‘’little’’ could suggest that Nora herself is physically small which again could suggest that this is what women were meant to be.  Throughout the narrative Nora is shown to be the weaker person of the two women, which could be further evidence to the fact that she is meant to represent females, she is also portrayed to be the more emotional one.  When telling Lisette about her job interview she did so ‘’eagerly,’’ when realizing that her and Lisette had the same job interview she was said to let out a ‘’little gasp.’’ The adverb ‘’eagerly’’ shows that Nora is a very enthusiastic person as does ‘’little gasp,’’ this again could imply that women are very emotional person. Lisette Alexander contrasts against Nora greatly, and because of this we can assume that she is meant to represent the male gender. One way we can see this is through Lisette’s speech: ‘’you should be more careful!’’ this fits in with Lakoff’s theory that suggests men use more imperatives than women.  The exclamatory suggests that Lisette was displeased by Nora barging into her; it also shows that Lisette is the more dominant speaker and holds the most power. This is because only those who are sure of their power would be able to use an imperative, and in such a tone. Nora’s language on the other hand is more deficient, this is due to her over use of intensifiers ‘’so much’’ as well as empty adjectives.  In comparison to Nora, Lisette’s actions contains more force with them for example ‘’examined.’’ The dynamic verb suggests a methodical and emotionless approach to her actions. It also suggests power behind her actions as well as sureness. Nora’s actions lack more the confidence that Lisette’s contains and is generally more incompetent. When seeing Lisette enter the building of her interview Nora ‘’hesitated;’’ the verb shows that Nora was second-guessing her decision.  This situation might appeal to the target audience because they too might feel that they are unqualified for a job and can therefore understand Nora’s in-decision.

 

Grouping Texts Task

Texts A, C, D, G and F all contain imperatives; texts C, D, F are forms of advertisement and therefore have the primary purpose of to persuade.  Text F could be considered a weak inclusion because unlike the others it uses cloak imperatives.

Text A is a collection of transcripts of some messages left on an answer phone because of this the messages have a low level of formality. From message 1 we can assume that the caller and the receiver are very good friends as they are talking about meeting later up that night for a drink. The caller is confirming their plans and is apologizing as they will be late, they end the message with ‘’get the drinks in while ya waiting. Byeeee.’’ The replacement of the pronoun ‘’you’’ to ‘’ya’’ could be due to the sociolect of the person; however by using the informal version it shows that the caller have a good relationship, this is due to the fact that the caller didn’t feel the need to use the correct pronoun when leaving the message. Their good relationship could also be why the caller felt it was acceptable to give the imperative ‘’get the drinks in.’’ The sentence is very informal which can be seen through the use of the verb ‘’get’’ and the adverb ‘’in.’’ From the rest of the message we can assume that the main purpose of the imperative isn’t for it to be followed, the receiver could be using it as another means of apologizing for the fact that they will be late; they are trying to make up for this by re-assuring the receiver that there is no need to wait for them and to have fun without them.  Similarly to Text A, the imperatives in Text G don’t have a primary purpose of to be followed. Text G is a copy of card found inside a pack of high quality tights. In order to carry on the image of quality, the card contains information about the tights as well as instructions on how to fit them. The first step on the card ‘’ from a sitting position gently gather the tights with your hands and ease over each foot.’’ The use of the adverb ‘’gently’’ carries on the theme of luxury and might make the consumer feel that their tights are delicate and should be handled with care, the verb ‘’ease’’ also carries the same connotations. The rest of the card contains the rest of the instructions and uses soft verbs that put forward the image of high quality and luxury. Most women know how to fit tights properly, which is why we can assume that the main purpose of the instructions aren’t to instruct but are there in order to make the consumer feel like they have bought into ‘’a new concept of hosiery.’’ The instructions are there to inform the customer that the company’s tights are different and therefore should be treated differently to other tights. Texts C, D, F could be a sub group due to the fact they are different forms of adverts that use imperatives.  Text C is the back of CD cover, and therefore has the primary purpose of persuading the audience to buy the CD they do this through the use of imperatives. They try to convince the audience by listing the different occasions the CD could be used for ‘’ play it while you travel by train, stash it in your tent, or keep it cranked up while you’re tooling down the A303…’’ The imperatives show that the CD has many different uses and suggest that you will be able to get your money’s worth out of it. The use of informal language such as the dynamic verbs ‘’cranked’’ ‘’tooling’’ ‘’stash’’ show that the main target audience of the CD are males and females of the young generation who would be attracted to the following list.  Text D is a poster advert for a phone company and uses two imperatives; ‘’Prove it. Phone her while the football’s still on.’’ From the imperatives we can assume that the advert might targeted at males, due to the football reference. The slogan of the company is ‘’bringing people together,’’ this helps us understand the advert better, they are telling the target audience to prove their love to their girlfriend by phoning them when the football is still on. The use of the contraction of ‘’football’s’’ makes the imperative shorter and therefore more effective. The short direct imperatives might also be appealing to the target audience as maybe they won’t like adverts that are too consuming to read.  Text F could be seen as a weak inclusion as it uses cloaked imperatives, however it belongs to the same sub group as C and D as it has the primary purpose of persuasion.  The advert is for a charity, which could be a reason as to why it doesn’t use direct imperatives. The advert asks for volunteers or donations ‘’ if not we really need your money.’’  The intensifier ‘’really’’ shows the audience that the charity desperately requires donations. This could make the audience feel sympathy towards the company because they are working hard to help other people but still require help themselves. The cloaked imperative works more effectively than a direct imperative would have been, this is because the charity is asking for money but is offering nothing in return. People would already be reluctant to part with their money, they if are being directly told to do so they might even be more reluctant. However by hiding behind the cloaked imperative the company is able to make the audience feel sympathy and therefore help them achieve their primary purpose.

A short extract from a romantic novel

She re-adjusted her bag, and stepped onto the train carriage. As she did so, a strong hand enclosed her delicate wrist pulling her back. Unwillingly she turned around, already knowing who she was going to face. Being on the train meant that she was just about the same height as him, his dark eyes stared knowingly into hers. She tried to stare defiantly back, but she felt a tear roll down her cheek and she was furious at herself for letting him see how much he had hurt her.

‘’I am so sorry B. Really really sorry’’ he apologized in his deep voice

She shook her head in response and tried to release her hands but his only just tightened in return.

‘’It was a drunken mistake, the stupidest fucking mistake I’ve ever made, you've got to believe me! She meant nothing to me. God B. you have to forgive me, just say you’ll forgive me! ’’

The tears flowed freely down her face; he used his free hand to wipe them away. At his touch, her resolve crumbled and she pressed her face into his hands.

‘’I trusted you Cal, everyone told me to stay away, but I trusted you’’

Calum hated the sadness and hurt in her voice, and hated the fact that it was him who had caused that. She looked so small, her narrow shoulders hunched over in defeat. He let go of her wrists and enveloped her in a hug, trying to convey all the regret he felt in the simple gesture.Brooke breathed in his familiar scent, and pressed her face closer into his chest. Calum was still wearing a suit, which meant that he had probably just returned from work when he found the note Brooke had left. The note was an act of weakness on her part, but she knew that if she gave him a chance to explain she would be persuaded into forgiving him. That was the thing with Calum; he was handsome, charismatic, smart. And he knew it too. It was a deadly combination, and she should have known better but his smile was so dazzling and just like every other girl she fell for it. Because that's what she was, a silly girl who had the misfortune to fall in love with her boss.  

3 Language and Gender Theories

·       

•   Dominance Theory-   this is a claim that states that in a dialogue between a man and a woman, the man is more likely to interrupt.  This theory arose from a study carried out by Don Zimmerman and Candace West in which they observed 31 conversations between men and women. Their report showed that 11/31 conversations show men interrupting a total of 46 times whilst women only interrupted during 2/31 conversations. However some people argue (Geoffrey Bettie) interruptions doesn’t have to necessarily mean an assertion of dominance but could be seen as a sign of interest and involvement.

·      

•   Deborah Tannen and difference- Professor Tannen summarised in an article related to her book ‘’You Just Don’t Understand’’ the six main differences in men and women’s language:

1)      Status vs. Support - For men conversation is seen as a competition and a way to assert their dominance to prevent others from asserting theirs. Women on the other hand conversation is a way to gain approval and support for their ideas.  The world to man is seen as a way of gaining status, whilst women see it as ‘’a network of connections seeking support and consensus.’’ 

2)      Independence vs. Intimacy - Professor Tannen states that women usually think in terms of in closeness and support, whilst men are more concerned with independence and their status. An example that Tannen gives on this is that a woman would ask her husband if they could have a guest over because she likes telling her friends that she has to check with her husband. The man on the other hand would invite the guest without checking with his wife because to do so would mean losing his status.

3)      Advices vs. Understanding - Men often see complaints as challenge and will strive to find a solution but in this scenario all a woman wants is sympathy.

4)      Information vs. Feelings - Men are more concerned with obtaining and giving information whilst women are more likely to talk about emotions.

5)      Orders vs. Proposal - Women tend to use cloaked imperatives, or use indirect imperatives e.g.  ‘’lets’’ ‘’why don’t we?’’ Men on the other hand prefer to hear/ give direct imperatives.

6)      Conflict vs. Compromise- men are more likely to argue and resist things vocally whilst women often concede but complain or try and find a middle ground. 

• Robin Lakoff- during 1975 published ‘Language and a Woman’s Place’ which contains an account of women’s language. In another similar article she wrote assumptions about what marks a woman’s language from a man’s, some of these claims are:

o   Hedge -  women use phrases such as ‘’sort of’’ ‘’kind of’’ ‘’it seems like’’

o   Use super polite forms - ‘’would you mind’’ ‘’I’d appreciate it if’’

o   Use tag questions – ‘’you’re going to dinner aren’t you?’’

o   Avoid coarse language or expletives

o   Use empty adjective e.g. divine, lovely, adorable, cute

o   Use more intensifiers e.g. ‘’so’’ ‘’very’’

o   Use cloaked imperatives – ‘’it’s a bit cold in here isn’t it? ‘’ 

Source: http://www.universalteacher.org.uk/lang/gend

Analysis of Written Text

Q3) with relevance to Text I and relevant ideas from language, explore how language is used to assert power.

Because Text I is the first page of an Employee Handbook we can assume that it will be in a formal register, with a high frequency use of jargon. The text could also contain lots of imperatives, as well as power in the discourse because it might be written be someone with lots of power and they might want this known so that they take the handbook seriously.

One way the text creates power over its audience is through the use of building the consumer, a technique used by advertisers and identified by Fairclough. Although the handbook is not advert it still uses the technique effectively. Building the consumer includes knowing who your target audience is and therefore creating the perfect image of who they should be/ would like to be. The paragraph opens with a declarative about Waterstone being a ‘’strong brand’’ and how this is due to ‘’commitment and passion everyone in Waterstone’s has for what they do.’’ The abstract nouns ‘’commitment’’ and ‘’passion’’ is used to describe the kind of people the staff should be, and could be seen as positive face. By describing the staff as passionate and committed, it makes them seem hard-working and dedicated. This in turn could make the staff more loyal to the company as it makes them feel valued. On the other hand, if the staffs reading this are not passionate or committed the declarative could then be seen as guideline for the kind of staff they should be. The pronoun ‘’everyone’’ makes all the member of staff feel included, and could be a way of building employees confidence; this assumes that everyone is indeed actually passionate and committed to the company. Although building the consumer is used for advertising, it is effective here because it creates an image that some employees can strive for, or empowers those employees who are already committed and passionate.

Throughout Text I imperatives are used, and coupled with power behind the discourse these are a very effective way of asserting power. An example of an imperative in Text I is ‘’ they have to give the highest levels of customer service.’’ The deontic verb ‘’have’’ creates a sense of importance and makes the audience feel like they are obliged to do as the text says. The superlative ‘’highest’’ could be seen as a way of telling the staff that only the absolute best is accepted by the company. This might show us the amount of power the writer has, because not only are they using an imperative but they are also asking maximum effort from their staff. This imperative is only effective due to the pragmatic understanding the audience would have of the power the writer holds. At the bottom of the page we can see that it is written by ‘’Nick Williams- Operations Director’’ because we are not the intended audience we do not know the amount of power he holds. However we can assume that he holds a lot of power, and this imperative is an example of him using the power his role gives him otherwise known as instrumental power. Another example of an imperative is ‘’please participate fully with your ideas and suggestions.’’  The adverb ‘’please’’ could be seen as way of softening the imperative, or a way of highlighting its importance. The adverb ‘’fully’’ again shows that participating is not enough, and that the staff must ‘’participate’’ to the best of their abilities; further highlighting that the store will only accept those who are willing to work as hard as they can.

Divergence is also another technique that can be used in order to assert one’s power. One way that divergence is achieved in Text I is through the use of low frequency lexis and hypercorrect grammar: ‘’Over a series of meetings, the NCST worked together to draw out the key issues from customer service, their thoughts and ideas, and of their colleagues.’’ The use of the verb ‘’draw’’ in order to describe gathering data is an example of low frequency lexis, and could show that the writer is very knowledgeable and therefore the staff might be more inclined to listen to them. The use of jargon like ‘’NCST’’ also adds to the importance of the message as it shows that the organisations is very official. On the other hand some staff might find the use of overt prestige condescending, making it harder for the writer to achieve its aim. However overt prestige is a way of asserting power, because only dominant speakers who already hold power can diverge away from a group. It is another mean of making sure that people are aware of the power they hold, and because some people might find it condescending only those who aren’t affected by the thoughts of other people because of their status can use overt prestige.

Building the consumer is an advertising technique that makes the target audience feel like the advert is addressed specifically to them, Text I however use this to make the staff reading the page feel like it is only targeted at them and maybe therefore makes them feel special. For example the last paragraph reads: ‘’thank you for your efforts so far. I know you’ll put everything you have into making your branch customer service better than ever.’’  The use of the 3^rd person direct address ‘’you’’ makes the reader fell singled out and special, the repetition highlights this point even further. It might also make the reader think that even though they are just one person they are responsible for the image of the branch, which is an example of positive face as it highlights the importance of each reader. ‘’ I know you’ll put everything you have into making your branch customer service better than ever’’ could be seen as a declarative however if we look deeper into it, it is actually a cloaked imperative, this is because without ‘’ I know’’ the sentence reads as an imperative, and is another way that the writer is asserting his power. The intensifier ‘’than’’ shows us that once again the staff need to push themselves to the best of their abilities in order to achieve the standard of customer service that the writer wants. 

Legal Transcript Analysis

1)      With relevance to the Legal Transcript Text and relevant ideas from language, explore how language is used to assert power.

 

Because the text is set in a courtroom we can predict that during the conversation the Bar has more power over the witness (Mr Neil) this could be due to the Bar’s instrumental power. In this text the Bar also has Political power over the witness and because of this he has the ability to ask questions and be answered, immediately giving him more power, however the judge in this scenario would have the most power and although we do no hear from him we can assume that he is there and has the highest form of instrumental power.

One clear example of the Bar being the more dominant speaker is when he is asking for clarification and states: ‘’ is that because the police have been to see you so many times Mr Neil‘’.  The use of the intensifier ‘’so’’ to modify ‘’many’’ shows that Mr Neil has been trouble with the police before, by doing this the Bar could be achieving his primary purpose of trying to convince the judge that Mr Neil is guilty of the crime he is convicted for.  ‘’so many times’’ can also be seen as ironic and therefore it might show that the Bar is mocking Mr Neil. The use of bald on record strategy and flouting Grice’s Maxim of manner, to assert his power as well as lowering Mr Neil’s own status could be seen as unprofessional. However ‘’so many time’’ is also a common idiom and in this case the Bar might just be using to get his point across. The emphasis on the idiom and Mr Neil’s name makes the implicature seem mocking.  By starting the interrogative with ‘’is that because’’ the Bar has made it harder for Mr Neil to answer the question, the conjunction ‘’because’’ means that Mr Neil can only answer ‘’yes’’ or ‘’no’’ to the question. This means that the Bar isn’t giving Mr Neil much chance to defend himself, this makes the Bar more powerful and it is helping him achieve his primary purpose.

Earlier in the text before the Bar could finish his interrogative, Mr Neil interrupts with a response: ‘’ I don’t think they did no.’’ The overlap could be seen as competitive however because we know that Mr Neil is trying to defend himself we could assume that he is eager in trying to prove his innocence and so interrupts the Bar. Mr Neil could have also thought that the Bar has finished his question; ‘’you can’t remember whether they came to see you’’ could’ve been the end of the question whether ‘’or no’’ was added the intonation would have been the same. Based on this we can assume that Mr Neil was not trying to take power away from the Bar and from this we can say that the overlap might actually be in fact cooperative. The dynamic verb ''think'' shows that Mr Neil is unsure and is trying not to impilicate himself by making such a bold declarative, this makes it less powerful and in doing so Mr Neil is also lessening his power. The determiner  ‘’no’’ emphasizes the main subject of his declarative, which is that to the best of his knowledge the police hasn't been to see him.

 

 

 

Grouping Texts Task

Grouping 1:  

 

Texts A, C and D all have a secondary purpose to inform which helps them achieve their primary purpose to persuade. Text A is a job specification for a waitress in café, in order to persuade people to apply the first piece of information the audience – anyone interested in waitressing of any gender aged 16 and over- receives is the job title : ‘’ Front of House Team (Part-time, weekend)  - Clifton.’’  This might have been done to carefully select the people who are suited for the job from those who aren’t, the use of jargon in '’Part of House Team’’ shows us that the writer wants someone who already has experience in waitressing, we can tell this because anyone who has worked in waitressing before would know what this term means but those who haven’t won't. By saying where the café is located and the number of hours required it further eliminates those who aren’t interested in part time work, or those who live too far away for the job to be suitable to them.  For those who meet the requirements this could be a form of persuasion as it might entice them to apply for the job.  The job advert also contains a small description of the company: ‘’ our mission is to serve simple & well prepared food and drinks made with great ingredients, skill & love.’’ The use of the first person pronoun of ‘’our’’ makes the company seem like a family which is then supported by the abstract noun ‘’love,’’ this gives a welcoming vibe and might persuade the audience to apply.  By stating what the company is about, it also informs the audience what kind of environment they would be working in, as well as provide an idea of what kind of employee the company is looking for. Text C also uses information in order to persuade however unlike the other text, C relies heavily on it. Text C is the back of an Innocent Smoothies bottle; Innocent Smoothies are well known for their healthy drinks that are 100% natural. All packaging contains a list of the ingredients, however to stand out Innocent Smoothies puts the exact amount of ingredients in each bottle: ‘’2 ½ pressed apples, ½ mashed banana, 12 crushed raspberries, ½ freshly squeezed orange etc.’’ By adding adjectives in front of the ingredient it conveys just how much work and effort goes into each bottle, as well as inform the consumer how fresh the produce is. The preciseness of the measurements ensures the consumer that what they are drinking is 100% natural and therefore convinces them to maybe buy the product. Similarly to A, the back of the Innocent bottle also contains information about the company, this makes the consumer trust them more as they are informed on the company and therefore might convince them to stay loyal to the company.Text D is the blurb of a book and has a main target audience of female teenagers. One way we can tell who the book is aimed for is the language it uses:  ‘’but when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Support Group…’’ the use of the adjective ‘’gorgeous’’ suggests to us that the book could be written from Hazel’s point view, showing us that the book might be mainly aimed at girls as they would be able to relate more with the character therefore convincing them to buy it. Through orthography the audience can also be persuaded to buy the book, written in bold and in yellow colouring at the top of the book is ‘’ #1 New York Times Bestseller.’’ This convinces people to buy the book as the New York Times is a well respected magazine, and therefore shows the audience that the book is highly regarded.  The bright yellow colour has positive connotations of happiness and sunshine which might persuade the reader to buy the book. 

Grouping 2:

 

Texts B and E both use rhyming couplets in order to achieve their primary purpose which is to entertain.

Text B is an extract from a popular children’s book The Gruffalo. The vocabulary used in the book are of a simple nature and doesn’t contain more than 3 syllables, because of this the rhymes have a set rhythm. This makes the book easier to and read more enjoyable for the children as they are not caught up on bigger words that they cannot understand. It also makes the book more memorable. An example of the simplistic language and rhyme used is: ‘’ a mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood, a fox saw the mouse and the mouse looked good.’’ The use of the determiner and indefinite article of ‘’a’’ when referring to the characters depersonalizes them, in doing this the author makes it seem like it could be any fox or any mouse that this story is about making it more exciting for the audience. By only having 10 syllables in each verse also makes the book more memorable. The use of plosives in ‘’deep dark wood’’ makes a heavy sound which makes it easier for the reader to imagine the setting of the story, this then might make it seem like we are walking through the woods with the together making the story more interactive. The next line in the excerpt is ‘’where are you going to little brown mouse?’’ and could be seen as a form of colloquial language. The language used here is similar to that of a child, this clearly shows us who the target audience is and is also an example of accommodation. It also creates a light atmosphere within the whole story as even the speech rhymes.  Text E is a poem by Daniel Gabriel Rosetti known as ‘The Woodspurge’ and although has similar techniques as B it has a different target audience. Like Text B ‘The Woodspurge’ has an AAAA rhyme scheme throughout the whole poem, however in the poem it is used to create a dull and repetitive atmosphere. The rhymes in the poem aren’t quite as simple as the rhymes in B as it occasionally uses half rhymes, however the strengths of the rhyme are the same: ‘’from perfect grief there need not be, wisdom or even memory:’’ The use of oxymoron in ‘’perfect grief’’ conveys to us the powerful sadness that the writer feels, and also creates the monotonous atmosphere that the writer is trying to create. The next line adds to the feeling of hopelessness that the poet feels as it is saying that sometimes grief doesn’t have a point and it’s just there to be felt. The two verses show us that the language used in this poem is more sophisticated than the language used in Text B. This is because it contains disyllabic and polysyllabic words; the use of formal language could be attributed to the fact that it is aimed at an older target audience or the age of the poem.