Language in Cultural context

Key Concepts in Discourse Analysis Cultural sensitivity How does audience and purpose affect the structure and content of texts? Decontextualization What do we know about the context in which a particular text was written? Multivocality Many meanings emerge from a complex relationship involving a range of social, cultural, and temporal contexts, readers or viewers, and texts. Target audience For whom is the text intended?

This can be broken down into 5 Big Questions you can ask any text. Audience / purpose - Whom does the text target? What does the author wish to achieve through the text? Content / theme - What is literally ‘happening’ in the text? What is it about? What are the main ideas of the text? Tone / mood - How does the text make you and/or the target audience feel? Describe the atmosphere of the text. Stylistic devices - How does the author use language to convey a sentiment or message? What kinds of linguistic tools does he/she employ? Structure - How is the text organized, literally (i.e. layout/formatting)? What kinds of structural elements of a particular text type do you see?

Cultural Sensitivity You are going to be shown a series of MacDonald's advertisements from different cultures. Can you guess where they come from? Can you explain why these ads work in some cultures but not it others?

Homework: Write an answer to this question How could the text be read and interpreted differently by two different readers? Homework: Write an answer to this question