ESP - 1st semester

Spécialisation de rang 1

particularismes lexicaux, terminologie et jargon

Spécialisation de rang 2

domaine: syntaxe, formulations = conventions d’expressions particulières

Polarisation des comportements langagiers

* formation initiale * normes * facilitation de la com * normes implicites * peer pressure * imitation * viscosité du langage (usage)

ESP

“the branch of English studies which deals with the langage, discourse and culture of English-speaking professional communities and specialised English-speaking social groups and the teaching of this subject.”

Speech community

“people sharing knowledge of the rules for the conduct and interpretation of speech”

Discourse community

“a group of people who link up in order to pursue objectives that are prior to those of socialization and solidarity”

6 criteria for a discourse community - John Swales

1. common public goals 2. intercommunication 3. mechanisms to provide info and feedback 4. use of at least one genre 5. specific lexis 6. threshold level of expert and novice members \

genre

“discursive practice which, for historical and socio-cultural reasons, had been given a name which gradually becomes fixed. (instruments of exclusion of the discourse community)

ESP methods

* Statistical data (Durkheim) * Correspondence and biographical material (archives) * questionnaires and sample surveys * observations in situ (participant or not) * interviews * compilation of scientific results * experimental situations * international comparison

3 types of interviews

* non-directive : theme and let interviewee talk * semi-directive : themes and questions but adapting depending on the answer * directive : exactly the same questions and wording to be able to compare them

types of transcription

literal and arranged/final

Steps of an interview

1. research 2. contact (high refusal rates) 3. interviews 4. transcriptions 5. exploiting results 6. feedback to experts

method triangulation

counter bias (cultural, intellectual, bias of the interview, of the participant) → triangulation of data, theories and investigator

fields of discourse (used to categorize it)

* Deliberative : looking at the future, persuade * Judicial : considering legality, ethics, past * Epidictic : praising or blaming

literary discinctions

* Thematic characteristics * Compositional characteristics

Swales 3 moves theory in genre analysis

**Move 1 : Establishing a territory** (subject, previous literature, claming centrality and reviewing previous literature) **Move 2 : Establishing a niche** (precise, what’s missing from previous literature, counter-claiming : resisting smth done in the past/criticize it) **Move 3 : Occupying a niche** (how you would fill the gap, announcing research, outlining purpose and findings)

models of writing

CARS model - Creating a Research Space IMRAD model : Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion

Variation of genre

genre as an ideal model, never fully actualised Reasons for variation : expert/novices, rhetorical demands, context → depends on the genre

Diachrony of the genre

Genres are immediate, sensitive, flexible, they reflect the slightest change in social life → tracing the origins is important → discovering its chromosomal fingerprint

Intertexuality of genres

notion of __genre chains__, ref to other genres, __genre hybridity__ (inclusion of one in a larger one) and __discursive memory__ (of previous genre)

Importance of the medium

“it is not possible to separate what is said from the material and institutional conditions of saying”(Maingueneau) ex. CMC “computer mediated comm”

Creating a corpus

specialised or __representative__ corpus : relevance, homogeneity and diversity, link to the question, degree of common and specialization, variety of English

Metaphors

device bringing together two constituents : a __topic/tenor__ (what you’re talking about) and a __vehicle__ (how you present it) → cognitive and representative power = brings together a target and a source domain in a “blended space”

Types of metaphors

* Structural : argument as war, time as money * Orientational : emotion and up/down to define it sharply * Ontological : mind as a machine * Container : in and out of love

Semiotic understanding of metaphors

two lexemes (minimal units of discourse) made up of several semes (minimal units of meaning) → only the semes compatibles with the TWO lexemes are activated

Aim of metaphors

* **rhetorical** * **didactic :** structuring, visual or both * **evaluative** * **persuasive** * **theory constitutive metaphors** ex. Adam Smith’s invisible hand

Types of legal discourse, situations and genre

* **legislative** ex. acts of Parliament/statutes in the UK * **judicial** ex. Supreme court’s opinion * **courtroom** ex. examinations * **administrative** ex. Testament * c**ontractual** ex. Terms and conditions

Actors of the law

* specialized actors that forms specialized discourse communities * lay actors, non-expert → power disparities cf. the Miranda rights → Supreme court mandating that their rights be read to people arrested (Miranda v. Arizona)

Civil and Common law system

* Civil/Roman law: codes and principles applied to the facts * Common Law : based of precedent, central role of the judge * Bi-juridisme dans le cas du Canada (both)

Characteristics of Legal English - lexis and terminology

* specialized terms * latinate words * special meaning of ordinary words * highly formal * specific syntax (historic influence of French)

Characteristics of Legal English - syntax

* complex prepositions * binomial/trinomial expressions * high degree of subordination, multi-clause * passive * nominal forms > verbal forms

Characteristics of Legal English - discursive and phraseology

* repetitions * leading questions * intertextuality and cross-referencing * fixed formulas * standard language repeated (__boilerplate__ language)