Now we are going to look at extracts from two different written sources.
(a) Identify which domain you think they come form
and
(b) how you know (i.e. what linguistic features are associated with each
medium).
You can compare your conclusions with ours by clicking on the button
after each text.
Text 1
3.2
The following provisions of this clause are a Statement of the
general aims of the Charity to which the Trustees are (subject
to the following) to have regard at all times but no part of or
provision in such Statement is to qualify derogate from add to
or otherwise affect the Objects set out in clause 3.1 and the
furtherance of the Objects (which shall in the event of any conflict
prevail over such Statement)
Our answer:
This is an extract from a legal document setting up a charitable trust.
'Derogate' is a term that does not often crop up outside the law, and
various other terms (e.g. 'clause' 'provisions') have special meanings
here compared with their more normal uses. Besides the somewhat arcane
lexis, the grammar is complex, and also involves list constructions
with frequent use of 'and' and 'or'. And apart from sentence- and word-initial
capitals (the latter indicating words specifically defined elsewhere
in the document), there is no punctuation. The grammatical and punctuation
characteristics are typical of legal documents because they need to
be worded in such a way that, for the lawyers at least (!) there are
no misunderstandings or ambiguities about what is being said.
Text 2
The exact way in which information is 'coded' in the auditory
nerve is not clear. However, we know that any single neurone is
activated only by vibration on a limited part of the basilar membrane.
Each neurone is 'tuned' and responds to only a limited range of
frequencies. This information about frequency can be coded in
terms of which neurones are active or 'firing' with spikes. This
form of coding is called 'place' coding. Information about sound
level may be carried both in the rate of firing (i.e. the number
of spikes per second) and in terms of the number of neurones which
are firing.
Our answer:
This is an extract from The Oxford Companion to the Mind, a book on
the nervous system written for students of psychology, biology and medicine.
It has obvious biological technical terms (e.g. 'auditory nerve', 'neurone'),
and like the legal document, is written so that complex material can
be understood clearly. Terms not already introduced are defined as the
text goes along, and important metaphorical uses are signalled by inverted
commas. This text is considerably less complex grammatically than the
legal extract. The language of science is usually fairy formal, though,
and this text is no exception. Apart from the technical terms and formal
vocabulary items like 'however' and 'in terms of', the prevalence of
passive constructions is a marker both of formality and, more generally,
of the language of science. There are six passive constructions in this
six-sentence (105 words) extract:
. . . information is 'coded' in the auditory nerve . . .
. . . any single neurone is activated only by vibration on a limited
part of the basilar membrane . . .
Each neurone is 'tuned' . . .
This information about frequency can be coded . . .
This form of coding is called 'place' coding.
Information about sound level may be carried both in the rate
of firing . . .
