Latent semantic indexing

Words can be defined by a few categories, formal language, informal language and slang. This essay will focus upon slang and how it has changed across time. Examples throughout the history of language will be examined. Most often slang becomes irrelevant over time as it is either incomprehensible or no longer relevant. We will also examine how slang becomes formal or informal language with examples from Shakespeare. Slang is often hard to define. The varying definitions as well as the critiques…

In this module we started reading “They Say/I Say “By, Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Durst. Our first two sections were the Introduction: Entering the conversation and “They Say pages 17-51. In the Introduction they start with telling us about the templates used to enter a conversation or civil discourse. Some of the templates used are “Many Americans assume that _______., I agree that _________.” These are great introductions to either a conversation or starting to recap something…

Monday, October 19, 2015 6:56 PM Before I read the articles about Swales . I had no clue at all about what a discourse community was, but the idea once was known, was quite simple . A discourse community according to Swales, has six illistrative characteristics . First of all, a discourse community must have a common set of public goals. The community must also have various methods of communication between their members. These methods are used to give feedback and information to its members.…

If you were to ask any random person on the street what the word retard meant to them, they would likely tell you it is used as an insult meaning stupid or an idiot. Although that is technically one of the definitions of the word today, the original meaning, dated all the way back to the late 1400s, was to keep back, hinder or slow down. Over the many years mankind has not only changed the definition of the word, but also the nature of the word. The first time the word retard had been used…

Semiotics is, in simple words, the study of signs. Semiotics can be exercised to anything that can be seen as signifying something, that is to say, to everything that has meaning within a culture. The main goal of a semiotic analysis is to establish the elemental conventions by identifying significant differences and oppositions in an attempt to show the system of categories, syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations, connotations, distinctions and the rules of combination present. Using a…

Before writing this paper I knew what a discourse community was on the exterior but I never really looked into the definition of a discourse community. After reading the articles and having in class discussions about discourse communities I have a better understanding of what they are and how they impact our daily lives. A discourse community is a group of people who share a set of discourse, understood as basic values and assumptions, and ways of communicating about those goals. For discourse…

Since the beginning of birth, unconsciously, we are culturally trained to reads sings before we even learned to speak. With semiotics-the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation, we utilize this within our everyday communication. Signs are made up of two components; the signifier, which is the materialistic form of the sign, and the signified, the mental concept that the sign represents. We see these signs everywhere. For example, television uses signs to give meaning to…

Allusion: A direct or implied phrase reference to an event, person, or place and can range from anything including, real-world events, works of fiction, and religious manuscripts. Furthermore, allusions can also be used to elude the message or tone of the writing. Ex. In the novel Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury, the use of allusions helps the reader understand and visualize the events taking place, and draw connections to events that they can relate to. We see this happen on pg 59,…

An allusion is an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury uses allusions often to peak interest, and also as an artistic device; specifically, he uses allusions to stimulate associations, foreshadow, and provide character insight. Bradbury is able to stimulate association with allusions. When Beatty finishes what the woman with the match was trying to say, “ ‘We shall this day light such…

Many authors use allusions to events in the Bible in their writing. One such author is Herman Melville when he wrote his novel, Billy Budd. These allusions can be used to help relate events in the novel to events that have already happened in history. Throughout Billy Budd, Herman Melville uses many different biblical allusions to help portray the theme and plot of the novel. Three examples of biblical allusions used in Billy Budd are Adam and the fall of man, Joseph and his jealous brothers,…