Fight Illegal and Uninsured Motorists - Essay Example

Dis Analysis Introduction: The text which is analyzed in this report is an article written by John Ingham that appeared in the newspaper abouta police crackdown on illegal and uninsured motorists in Wolverhampton. While the article purportedly reports on events occurring in the town in an unbiased, journalistic fashion, the metaphorical use of semantic units argues distinctly against asylum seekers, whoa have been made the target in this text, as detailed further below. Analysis: As Hoey states, “if the claim is correct that there are an infinite number of discourse pattern possibilities, then the prevalence of any recurring patterns must be explained. This can be done if they are seen as culturally approved patterns which reflect (and to some degree influence) the Western world’s concern with problem solving and classification.” (Hoey, 1983:178). The given text shows several patterns of repetition, for example, the word “crackdown” occurs four times in this small piece of text. The prevalence of this pattern, i.e, the recurrence of this particular world can be explained in conjunction with the word “asylum seekers” which is also repeated a significant number of times, i.e., three times. The sub-text and inference that must be drawn is that the asylum seekers are the source of the problem in so far as illegal motorists are concerned. The repeated use of these words in a combined context suggests that the identification of the problem leads to the inference that the illegal status of the asylum seekers is also the cause of their illegal activity of motoring on the roads without adequate licenses. Metaphors are used in conjunction with negative assumptions and context in this piece of text, a manner as to “frame” the message structure through insinuation, as suggested by Bauman (1975:292), who refers to an “interpretive frame” or context which offers cues to the audience about what may be expected from a textual or verbal performance which follows. Such an interpretive frame can be achieved through the use of grammar and semantics, such as the use of metaphorical language and appeal to tradition among others. One example of the use of such metaphors in the text is words such as “operation”, “pulling”, “pulled over” and “led the way”, all of which supplement the use of words such as “crackdown” above and create a frame of reference wherein police action is suggested. Moreover, the semantic field in this article suggests illegal actions through the involvement of the police, the courts and the law in the general subject matter. The background assumptions replete in this text is the illegality of motoring without licenses and insurance and especially, ignoring court orders. According to Lakoff and Johnson, their analysis of the linguistic evidence shows that most of the conceptual system of human beings is metaphorical in nature. As a result, when we are arguing with another person, we see them as the opponent and we tend to attack his positions and defend our own (Lakoff and Johnson 4). In the discourse that has been provided, it’s possible to note that the position of the asylum seekers has been attacked. In the first instance, suggesting a “crackdown” implies that illegal activities are being carried out and this inference is heightened by the use of the term “exposure” in association with the activities that are being carried out by the police. The article is largely negative in tone towards the asylum seekers and offers the following arguments against them: (a) they don’t have the proper documents (b) they have licenses from other countries with less stringent tests (c) offenders ignore court summons and vanish (c) six asylum seekers were pulled over in the space of a single hour and (d) the asylum seekers are referred to as the “hidden army”, all of which accentuate the negative aspect about them. Most importantly, the text states: “they are least likely to stop at an accident and most likely to avoid the law at all costs.” Hence, there is an attack on a party through the use of linguistic elements such as metaphors in the discourse (Wood and Kroeger, 2000) In general, the entire semantic, contextual environment is strongly negative and the journalist/writer has portrayed this group of people, i.e., asylum seekers in such a way as to rebut at the outset, any arguments that could be offered in favour of asylum seekers. By stating that these are people least likely to stop at an accident and that they “avoid the law”, the suggested message is their illegal immigration status, which in turn translates into illegal actions like breaking road laws. Thus, the entire tone of the piece is negative and the reader is placed in a position where it is hard to refute the arguments and assumptions being offered by the writer. In addition to the linguistic elements, the textual matter is also supplemented with quotations from a sergeant and the executive director of the RAC Foundation. This piece of text also conforms to the Situation-Problem-Resolution-Evaluation model proposed by Hoey (1983). For instance, the article first of all defines the situation which exists, i.e, the exposure of asylum seekers for driving violations, i.e, driving without the proper documentation. The problem associated with this situation is then defined, i.e., the creation of an epidemic-like situation created by the offenders and the problems of inadequate or no licenses and traffic violations. All of the associated problems that are created through the illegal activities of the asylum seekers are detailed. This is then followed up with the resolution of the problem, through means which are suggested in the article, such as the use of automatic number plate recognition cameras. Another solution which has been suggested in the article is appointing specially trained liaison officers with the specific job of educating asylum seekers about the law. Additionally, windscreen insurance discs are also being required to be displayed on vehicles as visible proof of insurance cover, so that uninsured drivers can be easily identified. The article also offers an overall evaluation of the problems and the solutions suggested by stating that if such measures are not introduced, it is likely to contribute to a spiralling in accidents. Conclusion: On the basis of the above, it may be clearly noted that the journalist/writer holds a distinctly negative opinion about asylum seekers and has metaphorically provided an argument against them. The facts being reported in the article deal with illegal motorists and it could be argued that not all illegal motorists are likely to be asylum seekers. The manner in which the journalist presents his viewpoint and the contextual environment within which it is presented however, clearly lead even the resistant reader towards a negative conclusion about the asylum seekers. References: Bauman, Richard, 1975. “Verbal Art as Performance A.merican Anthropologist, 77 (2):290-311. Hoey, M, 1983. “On the surface of discourse”, Allen Unwin. Lakoff, George and Johnson, Mark, 1980. “Metaphors we live by”, University of Chicago Press. Wood, L.A. and Kroger, R.O. 2000 Doing discourse analysis, Sage Publications. Read More