INTERNAL ASSESSMENT

LANGUAGE ANALYSIS
Answers
Sample analysis 1
Analysis

An examination of the story entitled Not Again reveals that the writer employed the use of
communicative behaviours, attitude to language, registers to language and dialectic variation to tell
her story.

The story is narrated by the third person omniscient voice and uses the flashback technique. The
protagonist was raped three years before the start of the story and she was just beginning to get
over the ordeal when she was attacked again.

The use of vocalics is evident in the shouting, the grunting, the whispering, and the screaming that
the various characters engage in. The various different pitches and tones of voices demonstrate
the differing emotions that the characters experience. The pregnant silence of Sharon as she
waited for the antagonist to attack proved to be ominous and created suspense.

Other examples of communicative behaviour include the crippling blows she administered to her
attacker just before he was apprehended by the security guards. Artefacts such as sirens, whistles,
the pepper spray, crayons and blank paper demonstrates the danger to which Sharon was
exposed as well as the preparation she had made to keep herself safe.

The register used to frighten Sharon and raise a response from her was informal and the mesolect
along the language continuum. The use of profanity by the attacker was expected, but Sharon’s
use of the same language alerted the reader that she was no longer prepared to be a victim. The
readers shock to Sharon’s defence is understandable as early in the story Sharon’s attitude to the
attacker’s use of creole was one of scorn. Although by the end of the story, there was
convergence, it simply showed the attacker that even if one does not use profanity it is no
guarantee that one cannot.

The general language of the story is written in Standard English, which befits the serious nature of
the theme that the story examines.
Sample analysis 2
Analysis

This analysis will comment on language registers, dialectic variations, attitudes to language and
communicative behaviours as they are explored in the story.

The setting is a primary school. The narrator uses a formal register as he describes the
surroundings. The sombre tone of the story justifies the choice of Standard English and suits the
occasion. However, the neighbours use a casual register with each other, illustrating the informality
of their relationships with each other as well as their willingness to become involved in efforts to
rescue Mario.

As the different characters make their comments, at least three dialectic variations can be
identified. Mrs. Prince speaks the standard English (acrolect) when she exclaims: ‘Gosh this is
such a predicament.’ Mrs. Prince earns the crowd’s ridicule, when she speaks disparagingly about
their use of creole. She refers to their language as ‘bad talking’. Her attitude to the way they speak
was evident in her tone. The Dread, however, uses Rasta English to proclaim: ‘I man a go fi di
yout.’ He is totally at ease with the language of his social class and religious group. This language
was punctuated by the use of the word/letter ‘I’. Additionally, an unidentified speaker at the
beginning uses Profane English in saying, ‘Jesas Gaad, im mus ded now!’ The speaker’s use of
profanity registers their distress at little Mario’s plight.

The characters in the story use various communicative behaviours. Some shouted, others
screamed, taunted, whispered and some remained silent. The use of gestures as well as parts of
the body and movement, helped in defining the characters and their responses to the events taking
place. The woman with her hands on her head, and Mrs. Prince’s hand on the base of her throat,
clearly depicts how adversely they were affected by Mario’s accident.

Thus the story explores, against the backdrop of tragic events, the verbal and nonverbal responses
of its characters; this infers social differences and attitudes, and the way the characters speak and
respond to each other.