english advanced- module vocab

Textual Conversation

All texts are in conversation with other texts whether explicitly or implicitly but some texts that draw on others through adaptation, direct references or ideas are in fact making a comment about the original text. The ‘new’ text may resonate or challenge the ideas of the previous text, or reimagine it in a different context and /or form. By doing this the ‘recent’ text may be commenting on the universality of values. Comparison is one way of isolating the issues that are ‘in conversation’. 

Resonance

When an idea, issue, theme or value is resonating between paired texts the idea, issue, theme or value is accentuated, allowing responders to recognise this endures across contexts, while considering how or why the idea, issue, theme or value remains valid. 

Dissonance

Dissonance means a sound that is jarring; dissonance between paired texts occurs when the contemporary composer recognises that ideas and issues represented in the earlier text are no longer valid and/or not suitable to the new version. Dissonance goes beyond difference.

Reimagining

When composing a new text-based off an older text, composers are able to imagine how previous ideas apply to a newer context. This reimagining, through language concepts such as allusion or intertextuality, appropriates the original in a way that allows a text to be transformed while still maintaining the textual conversation between the texts.

Reframing

A change in context may also require composers to reframe the plot, themes or values in an older text. This can be achieved through adaptation of the form, structure and/or setting of the older text or simply through modifications to key features.

Mirror

If the features/ideas/characters in the newer text mirror those of the older text, the composer can be said to have composed a faithful representation and it can be assumed that the values of the older text continue to be relevant to the new context.

Align

If the features/ideas/ characters in the newer text, align with those of the older text, the composer is creating parallels to emphasise the similarities and/or to represent sustainable features.

Collide

If the features/ideas/ characters in the newer text collide with those of the older text, the composer will have created dissonance and emphasised disparate aspects. This may be due to changed context, which renders the older representation obsolete or it may be because of the different lenses that can be applied such as feminism or postcolonialism that lead to questions about values over contexts.

Common

Regardless of the context, some issues will always be of concern. These include issues relating to identity, such as unrealised aspiration, unfavourable bias, low self-esteem, fear of mortality, perceptions of loyalty, etc. These common issues transcend time and place and are ongoing concerns for humankind.

Disparate

Due to shifts in context, some issues of concern in the past are obsolete. A prime example of this is unhappy matrimonial homes, wherein couples were once bound by the notion ‘til death do us part’.  This was obliterated when divorce became attainable by a court of law, revoking what religion had united. Disparate issues evolve with time and place and are applied to newer texts to reflect current concerns of humankind.

Purpose

The purpose of a text, in very broad terms, is to entertain, to inform or to persuade different audiences in different contexts. Composers use a number of ways to achieve these purposes: persuading through emotive language, analysis or factual recount; entertaining through the description, imaginative writing or humour, and so on. (Stage 6 Glossary)

Context

The times and experiences – personal social, cultural and historical – when a text is composed and the values of the composer shape language, forms and features of texts.

Personal

The composer’s own circumstances, impacting on one’s morals and lifestyle choices.

Social

The circumstances within the composer’s immediate vicinity that affect the principles and ethics within their society and thus their lifestyle.

Cultural

The circumstances and situations which shape ideologies that determine the paradigms within a time period. (This is not referring to the cultural background; that is a personal context factor)

Historical

The events and situations that make a significant impact on the way people think, interact and even live

Values

The word ‘value’ refers to the ‘the attitudes and beliefs’ that are promoted in a text and valued. These values can be expressed by a character who implies or states what is important or through the language chosen which can give clues to what is valued: positive language or description will imply a positive attitude towards an idea, therefore, implying it is valued. Adaptations of texts in different contexts, mediums, modes affect the values in a text. This adaptation or transformation may challenge the original text’s values or it may affirm and reinforce these values.

The values represented in a text may be different from what we value (e.g. wealth, power, etc.).

Instead, they define how we should act to sustain our morals (e.g., sincerity, humility, resilience, integrity) and how we can maintain civil relationships and societies (e.g, respect, honesty, empathy, trust). Inevitably, values change with time, because people’s assumptions and perspectives adapt in response to new events and situations.

Issues

The values represented in a text relate to the issues explored by the composer. These issues arise from events and situations and can be considered in relation to the overarching ideologies that shape our world.

Stemming into paradigms, issues such as an existential crisis or loss of faith or unbridled ambition are represented to provide responders with cautionary examples of how humankind contributed to their own demise.

Assumptions

Assumptions are not so easy to locate. While this is very much being challenged in the present time, one way to understand the prevalence of assumptions is through gender; many texts assume that we experience traditional male/female roles and they reinforce this. We expect or assume that the domestic work is feminine in many cultures so advertising using a male in the kitchen creates humour because it builds on this assumption. Sometimes a comment in a text will reveal our assumptions. If a child is deserted by a parent we may assume this will be the male. The reaction against a mother leaving a child is often greater than that of a male leaving a child as we expect women to be more nurturing. This is not necessarily a ‘truth’ and certainly does not apply to all but it is a cultural assumption that is subtle and not so easy to identify until we assess our reactions.

Our perceptions are often derived from assumptions - what we presume until otherwise is shown. Assumptions may be ignorant or skewed and can be altered as we are exposed to more details and thus a deeper understanding.

Perspectives

The way we see the world is shaped by context which in turn shapes our assumptions, attitudes and values. Two people from the same context can develop different perspectives. It is a culturally learnt position that shapes the reader’s view of a text. It creates a position of preferred reading.

Appropriation and Adaption

Taking a text from one context and using it in another context. The process can allow new insights into the original text and emphasise contextual differences. Appropriation also gives extra insight into the newly created or used text.

Conventions

An accepted language practice that has developed over time and is generally used and understood, for example, use of punctuation.

Language Concepts

An overarching term including language forms and features, modes, and pattern.

Motif

A recurring subject, theme, idea, etc., especially in a literary, artistic, or musical work. (Cambridge Dictionary)

Allusion

A deliberate and implicit reference to a person or event, or a work of art which draws on knowledge and experiences shared by the composer and responder.

Intertextuality

The associations or connections between one text and other texts. Intertextual references can be explicit and self-conscious. They can take the form of direct quotation, parody, allusion or structural borrowing. Being able to discuss how ideology is constructed in the former text through its intertextual dialogue lifts the quality of the response to the texts.

Form

The conventions specific to a particular type of text, often signalling content, purpose and audience, for example, letter form, drama script, blog.

Style

The ways aspects of texts, for example, words, sentences and images, are arranged, and how they affect meaning. Style can distinguish the work of individual authors (for example Jennings' stories, Lawson's poems) as well as the work of a particular period (for example Elizabethan drama, nineteenth-century novels). Examples of stylistic features are a narrative viewpoint, the structure of stanzas, juxtaposition, use of figurative language and tone.