Introduction
This work aims to compare two texts in the respect of linguistic tools used. For this task, we have selected two texts, one written and one spoken. Both texts were taken from the Internet media sites and report the case of a Northwest Airlines officer who recently failed to deliver his plane to the destination point. The texts express the mentioned idea and also tell about the reasons for the issue.
The written text is 500 words in length, and the spoken text is 540 words in length. Using the frameworks and tools which we learned during the trimester, we will compare the two texts in terms of linguistics. Namely, we will analyze the form of each text, its texture, cohesion, and discourse (Paltridge, 150).
Analysis of the written text
Form
The written text is performed in the form of an article and is written in the publicist style. The character is very informative and is determined by the target readers. The plot is told in a deductive way; in other words, the story is built on a model “from specific to general”. The structure of the text is rather unclear, as there is no distinct introductory section; in addition, the body is subdivided into dozens of paragraphs, and it is hard to define the key idea. However, the conclusion is quite distinct.
Texture
The text is coherent, which means that the article is semantically meaningful. The coherence is achieved by using different elements, such as anaphora, cataphora, deixis, etc. As an example, we can analyze such sentences:
The first officer of the Northwest Airlines jet that missed its destination by 150 miles says there was no fight in the cockpit, neither he nor the captain had fallen asleep and the passengers were never in any danger (Cain, 1).
In this sentence, the word “he” is anaphoric and refers to the officer. Another example is:
Airplanes lose contact with the ground people all the time. It happens. Sometimes they get together right away; sometimes it takes a while before one or the other notices that they are not in contact.
In this case, the anaphoric expressions “they”, “one”, “another” are used to substitute the nouns “airplanes” and “ground people”.
Air traffic controllers and pilots tried for more than an hour Wednesday night to contact Cole and the flight’s captain, Timothy B. Cheney, of Gig Harbor, Wash., using radio, cell phone, and data messages (Cain, 1).
In this sentence, the word “captain” is cataphoric and is used before the name of the character. Similarly to this case, the cataphora is used in the next sentence:
But in an interview with The Associated Press two days after he and a colleague blew past their destination as air traffic controlled tried frantically to reach them, pilot Richard Cole would not say just what it was that led to them to forget to land Flight 188 (Cain, 1).
I would tell you more, but I’ve already told you way too much (Cain, 1).
In this sentence, “you” is a person deictic term, which denotes the person who is not directly involved in the conversation. The other example of the deixis is:
But I can tell you that airplanes lose contact with the ground people all the time (Cain, 1).
Besides the mentioned methods used for achieving the general coherence of the text, the author also used a set of other linguistic tools. Specifically, the cohesive meanings of the text are related to the current social context, and therefore are understandable and educative for the readers.
Cohesion and Discourse
As it was mentioned before, the analyzed text is cohesive. All in all, the discourse of the text is logical. The author expresses his ideas with long sentences, which are united with one idea. The author used several patterns of cohesion, such as repetition, different conjunctions, collocations, etc (Carnie, 78). To illustrate these tools, we will give some examples from the text.
Repetition
The author used repetition several times in the text. We can illustrate it with the quotations. In the next two sentences, the repeated words are in italics:
A police report released Friday said the pilots passed breathalyzer tests and were apologetic after the flight. The report also said that the crew indicated they had been having a heated discussion about airline policy (Cain, 1).
The repetition allows emphasizing some points in the text. It also helps both the reader and the author to stick to the subject.
Conjunctions
The author uses a set of conjunctions. For instance, there are conjunctions of addition in the text (besides, also, and); conjunctions of comparison (in contrast, similarly); conjunctions of cause (because, so); successive conjunctions (then, already, after), conjunctions of purpose (to, so that), etc. The sentences with conjunctions are: the report also said; conversation and other noise; but I’ve already told.
The conjunctions are also very helpful in all kinds of texts, as they connect the different ideas. I addition, the publicist style demands long and complex sentences to present the ideas. Conjunctions indisputably help the writer to unite several points in one long sentence. Thus, skillful use of conjunctions both in spoken and written language helps to express the message successfully.
Collocations
There are several collocations used in the text, for example, safety issues, right away, ground people, heated discussion, take long, data messages, radio calls, past the destination, Wednesday night (Cain, 1).
The collocations perform stable expressions. Some words have a denotative meaning while used with other words, and these pairs are collocations. They help the reader to define the subjects of the idea and follow the plot easily (Dornvei, 204).
Synonyms
Besides the named tools, there are several synonyms in the text. For example, the author uses such sets of words: airliner, pilot, flier; safety experts, traffic controllers; respond, answer; fight, discussion.
The synonyms are used in the text to avoid repetition and make the speech richer.
Analysis of the spoken text
Form
The spoken text concerns a topic similar to the written article. Several people are speaking, as far as the monitor interviews several workers of the airline and the pilots. However, in general, the text is well-structured. Unlike the written text, it has a distinct introduction, main part, and a conclusion. In addition, the manner of telling the plot is from general to specific, in contrast to the article. The style is neutral, and the character of the text is informative, as it gives a lot of statistical data and interviews.
Texture
Similarly to the written one, the spoken text is rather coherent. Interestingly, the audio text uses different tools than the written one for achieving coherence. For instance, every sentence has an intonation that adds emotional and logical emphasis on some parts of the text. For instance, the Rise Fall and High Rise intonation symbolized that a certain part of a sentence was of greater prominence than the rest of the words (Thomason, 321). In addition, the use of linking in the spoken language makes the speech smooth and understandable. The author links the words which end with a consonant to those which begin with a vowel in such cases as going on in, because again, and overshot, with MBC, one of, having it, following its, instead of.
Besides the tools which are only available for the spoken language, the traditional tools are also used in the text. For instance, similarly to the written text, the audio text is cohesive both in the linguistic and social context.
Cohesion and Discourse
Just like in the previously analyzed work, there are a lot of cohesive patterns in the audio text. For instance, there are different types of reference (anaphoric, comparative, and bridging), lexical cohesion (repetition, synonymy, and hyponymy), various conjunctions, substitutions, ellipsis, etc. To be more specific, let us analyze the examples from the text.
Reference
There are different types of references in the text. Namely, the author uses the anaphoric reference, for example when saying: as it was said; the mentioned pilot; the same race. The examples for bridging are those, that.
Lexical cohesion
The lexical cohesion of the spoken text is achieved by different methods. The author uses repetition:
Calls were becoming increasingly anxious. There was a high level of anxiety.
It flew right past it. One hundred fifty miles past it.
The author also uses a set of synonyms, for example, aircraft, plane, craft, machine, airplane; pilot, crew, aviator, flier; controller, monitor, supervisor; company, firm, crew.
The lexical cohesion is also achieved with the help of hyponymy, which suggests developing the idea from general to specific:
The Northwest Airlines flight with over a hundred fifty people aboard flew right past its destination airport and was unreachable for over an hour. As the investigators from the National Transportations Safety Board tried to figure out what was going on in the cockpit, we learned that once they did contact the jet they asked them to fly a certain maneuver so that they would know it was them […].
The hyponymy helps the reader (or in this case – the listener) to follow the main idea and develop it gradually (Brown, 144). Introducing an issue and then adding some details to it suggest that the listener will have a chance to follow the logical sequence of events.
Conjunctions
There are various conjunctions used in the text, just like in the written one. Namely, there are conjunctions of comparison (just like, similarly to), conjunctions of cause (because, as far as), conjunctions of addition (and, in addition, moreover), conjunctions of alternation (or), simultaneous conjunctions (meanwhile, while, at the same time), etc.
As it was mentioned, conjunctions play an outstanding role in the speech. They can be named one of the most important tools for making the speech coherent. In spoken texts, conjunctions are also essential.
Substitution
There are some phrases and words in the text, which are substituted in some sentences. For example:
The airbus departed San Diego […]. But instead of landing in Minneapolis, it flew right past it.
Substitution is often used by the authors of different genres. It is an effective linguistic tool that enables connecting the two sentences with one idea; in addition, substitution helps the writer to avoid repetition.
Ellipsis
The use of ellipsis in some sentences emphasized certain ideas. The omission of a subject or a predicate can serve as a tool for achieving coherence and emotional coloring:
It flew right past it. One hundred fifty miles past it.
As we can see, there is no subject in the second sentence. However, it does not influence the meaning of the idea and underlines the interconnection between the two sentences.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be said, that both analyzed texts are coherent. There is a set of standard tools used in both texts, written and spoken, which helped the authors to achieve coherence. These tools include repetition, synonymy, ellipsis, substitution, anaphora, hyponymy, ellipsis, etc (Stubbs, 112). However, there were also some tools used only in the spoken language. For instance, the audio text contains linking, various intonations, and stresses.
With the help of a detailed analysis of the two different texts, we had an opportunity to compare the linguistic tools used in the texts. In general, it can be said that the successful expression of the ideas and cohesive discourse can be achieved with the help of certain methods. Therefore, the course of applied linguistics can teach us how to use these methods appropriately.
Works Cited
Brown, Gillian. Discourse Analysis (cambridge Textbooks In Linguistics). Campbridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983.
Cain, Brad. “Pilot that overshot airport: Crew wasn’t napping”. Charleston Daily Mail. 2009. Web.
Carnie, Andrew. Syntax: A Generative Introduction. Wiley-Blackwell, 2006.
Dornvei, Zoltan. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Paltridge, Brian. Discourse Analysis: An Introduction. Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd, 2006.
Phillips, Nelson. Discourse Analysis: Investigating Processes Of Social Construction (Series – Qualitative Research Methods). Sage Publications, 2002. 96.
Stubbs, Michael. Discourse Analysis: The Sociolinguistic Analysis Of Natural Language. Wiley-Blackwell, 1991.
Thomason, Sarah. Language Contact: An Introduction. Georgetown: Georgetown University Press, 2001.