Latent semantic analysis

The English language is complex with an infinite amount of words, all having multiple meanings for themselves. Have you ever wondered why only one word could have so many meanings? Experience and perspective. Words over time lose its meaning and earn a whole new one based on experiences or a person’s perspective in life. One word that has an unquestionable amount of meaning is courage. Courage, according to the English dictionary, is the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face…

Allusions How do you understand the Jihadis? It is stated in the article “ Battle Lines”, that is impossible to understand the Jihadis, without examining their poetry really close. On page three, of the article “Battle Lines” it is mentions that: “ This culture finds expression in a number of forms, including anthems, and documentary videos but poetry is its heart.” This Is simply stating that in order to understand Jihadist‘s , you need to comprehend their poetry in a more formal…

as a discourse community. Discourse, according to Dictionary.com, means “communication of thought by words; talk; conversation,” and community is a social group that has members. John Swales, a professor of linguistics and best known for his genre analysis is the creator behind the six characteristics that determine if a community is a discourse community. A discourse community follows Swales’ six characteristics: share common goals, has a form of communication, a form of feedback, genres, a…

semi- (“half”) semiannual- occurring twice a year semicircle- half a circle Joey was upset that he couldn’t attend the semiannual car show held in his hometown. In kindergarten, art teachers teach little kids how to draw squares, rectangles, and even semicircles. sub- (“under”) subdue- to bring under control subway- a passage under the ground; an electric underground railway Amanda had to subdue the little girl to give her a flu shot. Carter has to ride the subway to work five days a week.…

Intertextuality and the Discourse Community, a text written by James E. Porter, outlines the basics of a given text and the way a person understands writing. Porter examines the principle of intertextuality, “the idea that all texts contain some other texts(395),” and the principle of a discourse community, “a group of individuals bound by a common interest who communicate through approved channels and whose discourse is regulated(400).” Bootstraps: From an Academic of Color, a story written by…

This is Not Just a Discourse Community, it’s My Life. Throughout our life time, we have all been apart of a discourse community before, whether it has to do with a specific sports team that we participate in, or an online community like Facebook, twitter, and Instagram. John Swales definition of a discourse community is simply a distinctive group with descriptive characteristics. The discourse community I ended up choosing was my own, which is my soccer life. A soccer community can be defined…

In modern literary pieces, there are countless references made to other well-known works. The same is true for many classic literary works. Allusions are used to introduce and connect ideas through the reference of other external texts. The effectiveness of allusions in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Shakespeare’s Othello is undeniable as they serve many purposes, especially in strengthening themes within the texts. The allusions used in both works provide insight into the characters’ conflicts…

A primary discourse community that I am apart of is an academic one. Harris described academic discourse communities as a “…meta-community tied to no particular time or place” (Harris 14). As a college student, I am constantly writing papers and turning in assignments. Likewise, I am held at a high standard as a Miami University student to follow certain guidelines, whether it be a part of Miami’s policy or simple assignment guidelines set by the professor. As Swales talks about in an article,…

Often times when one reads a book, one would want to feel a connection to the piece of literature, to the story, and to the characters themselves. He or she does this by searching for things in the story that has a familiarity to the reader in order for them to relate and understand the message of the novel. This, then, is what authors and writers use as a guideline in writing their stories. They reference other pieces of literature that are either well-known or where readers can be familiar…

I find this ties with Freire’s philosophy in Chapter 3 of Pedagogy of the Oppressed. As we attempt to analyze dialogue as a human phenomenon, we discover something which is the essence of dialogue itself: the word. But the word is more than just an instrument which makes dialogue possible; accordingly, we must seek its constitutive elements. (Freire 2016, p.87) Part of an excellent dialogue is being able to listen. Not just listen to hear but listen to have an understanding. While some may be…