Social Distance and Agency and Affectedness - Research Proposal Example

SOCIAL DISTANCE AND AGENCY AND AFFECTEDNESS A CRITICAL LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF TWO ARTICLES ONLINE FOR SOCIAL DISTANCE AND AGENCY AND AFFECTEDNESS 1. Title A comparison of field and tenor (variable registers) 2. The aims of the investigation What are the differences between field and tenor variable registers and their application in the real world setting? This paper seeks to analyze linguistic analysis of two articles, one in CNN news and the other in Al Jazeera news, for social distance and agency and affectedness. I wish to explore the differences that exist between field and tenor variables and their impact on interactions in relation to two articles in the media. Article 1 “Attack hit Tunisia where it hurt” found in CNN news talks about a terrorist attack in Tunisia, which killed 23 people. Article two “ISIL claims responsibility for Tunisia museum attack” is from the viewpoint of Al Jazeera news. The dialogue in the articles often fails to resemble the typical features of naturally occurring conversation because they often involved predetermined conversations. Language users unconsciously use field and tenor in their conversations, and it is only in some instances that a newspaper article achieves such levels of naturalness. 3. The rationale and main conceptual themes for the investigation The main conceptual themes for the investigation involves the use of ‘field’ and ‘tenor’ and relevant concepts of linguistic theory that associate to the terms. The paper will explore tenor and interpersonal positioning in spoken communications as highlighted in unit 12 (Getting Interpersonal: The Grammar of Social Roles and Relationships). Through the articles provided, the proposal will analyze tenor in non-interactive texts, specifically personalization, standing, and stance. The rationale of the investigation is that it educates the society on communication and presentation of information. Unit 13, Construing human experience: grammar, representation, and point of view, introduces the concept of agency and affectedness, which will be useful in the proposal. It offers insights on representational and evaluative effects in terms of agency and affectedness. The relevant analytical tools, ideas, and issues in the E303 material that insists in the investigation include field, tenor, and mode. This proposal explores the two articles in relation to communicative and linguistic processes. Ideas, issues, and related research in the module that support my rationale and may be useful in data analysis include personalization, situational and functional characteristics. The situation in the articles is a terrorist attack in Tunisia. The typical speech features present in both articles are field and tenor. Social and functional define the two main types of variation in language. Terrorism is a social aspect that affects the public, especially because of the loss of lives. Field of discourse defines the situational context in which the text is functioning and the rationale of the writer. The activities and procedures that happen throughout the speech define the field. In this case, the activity is a terrorist attack in Tunisia. The entire situations of the events that occur define the speech, for instance, an interaction between a parent and a young child is different from a news reporter presenting information about loss of lives. In contrast, tenor relies on people and their relationships. It defines the constituents of an event and the status that people have and their relationship. Social relations and role interaction may be temporary or permanent, depending on the people involved in the interaction. Status defines the hierarchy of interactions, for instance, a conversation between an employer and an employee. Through the register, a speaker considers the function of language in the conversation, the situational framework, and the participants of a discussion. The participants in the two news articles are the reporters and the public. This proposal explores the interrelationship between the two through the presentation of the articles. Personalization and tone of voice depend on the audience that a speaker addresses. This proposal seeks to explore the different situations in which tonal variations matter based on personalization. A person’s position of authority or standing determines the communicative process. A person who is storytelling and a person who is interrogating embrace two different tones, which can be explained under field and tenor as variables of the communicative process. Reporters have a position of authority in news presentation, and their standing as reporters determines reliability because of the faith readers bestow have in their presentations. A presenter/writer makes a presentation depending on the material that they are presenting and the knowledge of the audience. The audience often has a viewpoint, and the presenter/writer will analyze the level of knowledge of the addressees in relation to the material in question (29). In an instance where the audience is informed, the speaker or writer is likely to use words such as ‘I think’ or ‘I believe’. A speaker is likely to use an aggressive tone if the situation or audience is largely misinformed. A mother is likely to be aggressive when scolding a child, while a professor possible shares ideas with masters’ students. In article one, the reporter says ‘it seems’ the terrorist sought to disrupt the success of the tourism sector in Tunisia. 4. A Description of the Data you intend to Collect, and how you Intend to Collect it I plan to collect my data through written texts and research in published data about field and tenor and linguistic variations. In addition, I will explore other newspaper articles that report the incident and make a comparison of the presentation of the same news about the terrorist attack. The data is easy to collect because it will mostly be publications from existing texts. I will access the sources through class readings and peer-reviewed sources from the library. At the present, I place my focus on class materials, information from instructors, and the two newspaper articles. In addition, I will use other sources that offer an additional perspective on the topic, for instance, the teacher response on previous assignments completed on the topic. 5. The methods you expect to use to analyze the data you collect The first step is to analyze the data and make comparisons between different written materials. Secondly, it is essential to make a comparison of the findings concerning the data from two distinct sources to see their similarities and differences. The third step is to relate the findings to the relevant research questions and see if the data fall into the conceptual frameworks proposed. The fourth stage is to make a summary of what we can infer, and determine the effectiveness of the proposal. The fifth stage is to reflect on the limitations of the research method. Limitations may include factors such as insufficient research data. This evaluation stage determines the relevance of the research study in a practical conversation context. 6. The Timetable for the Proposed Project The timetable for the proposed project will last five weeks. The schedule is as follows: Week One: Conduct a literature review and collect data for assessment. Week Two: Revise the proposal in line with the tutor’s advice to help design a project of the right scale. Week Three: Initiate data analysis. Week Four: Scrutinize and compare the findings. Week Five: Complete the project report. 7. Any ethical issues you have to consider I will mostly rely on published data, and for that reason, I will have to reference the sources I use appropriately. I will try focus on the positive aspects of the research and avoid direct criticism of other researcher’s works. In addition, I will respect copyright and avoid plagiarism at all costs. For primary data such as interviews, I will maintain data confidentiality and ensure that I do not divulge information from personal sources. In addition, I will present information from the two newspaper articles from CNN news and Al Jazeera in a professional manner without bias. Word count (1239) References Al Jazeera (2015). ISIL claims responsibility for Tunisia museum attack. Al Jazeera news. Retrieved from http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/3/19/several-arrests-made-in-tunisia-museum-attack.html# Bergen, P. and Sterman, D. (2015). Attack hit Tunisia where it hurt. CNN news. Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2015/03/19/opinions/bergen-tunisia-terror-tourists/index.html# Social distance (tenor) Agency and affectedness Map of field and tenor Appendices Appendix 1: Recommended Reading: Lukin, A., Moore, A., Herke, M., Wegener, R., and Wu, C. (2011). Hallidays model of register revisited and explored. University of Wollongong. Research Online. Appendix 2: source Al Jazeera (2015). ISIL claims responsibility for Tunisia museum attack. Al Jazeera news. The Al Jazeera news article provides a reporter’s account of the terrorist attack in Tunisia. Appendix 3: source Bergen, P. and Sterman, D. (2015). Attack hit Tunisia where it hurt. CNN news. Bergen and Stermen present a report on terrorism in Tunisia. Appendix 2: ‘Tenor’ table Read More