lunes, 11 de noviembre de 2019

PORTFOLIO 20: "A feminist is a man or woman who..."


"A Woman on a Roof" by Doris Lessing 

 To read the short story click here: A Woman on a Roof.

Some important concepts:
  • characters: men have names (Harry, Stanley and Tom), ages (45, 17), roles (workers)
  • woman (no name) subverts the due image of women in patriarchal soceties (indiference & non-verbal communication)
  • she makes no compromise to patriarchal society.
  • woman shows her endowed power

Phenomenal Woman" by Maya Angelou



 Maya Angelous' s poem is considered a feminist one because of the use of words that describe women in the world. She affirms that women should not be in silent and women should be proud of themselves.

Maya Angelou's biography



Maya Angelou was a civil rights activist, poet and award-winning author known for her acclaimed 1969 memoir, 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings', and her numerous poetry and essay collections.




Who Was Maya Angelou?

Maya Angelou was an American author, actress, screenwriter, dancer, poet and civil rights activist best known for her 1969 memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which made literary history as the first nonfiction bestseller by an African American woman. Angelou received several honors throughout her career, including two NAACP Image Awards in the outstanding literary work (nonfiction) category, in 2005 and 2009. 

CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE >>"We should all be Feminists" by Chimamanda Adichie.

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In this video Chimamanda defends women confidence and adresses them to be strong and not to believe that they are the weaker sex. Women are able to do the same as men do, she also talks about her experiences at school and her everyday life.

IN PROGRESS... 

St. I know that my entry is incomplete :/ sorry for that, at this time I feel exhausted that is not an excuse but I tried to do the best these two months. :)

About James Petras

James Petras is a Bartle Professor (Emeritus) of Sociology at Binghamton University, New York.



He is the author of more than 62 books published in 29 languages, and over 600 articles in professional journals, including the American Sociological Review, British Journal of Sociology, Social Research, and Journal of Peasant Studies. He has published over 2000 articles in nonprofessional journals such as the New York Times, the Guardian, the Nation, Christian Science Monitor, Foreign Policy, New Left Review, Partisan Review, TempsModerne, Le Monde Diplomatique, and his commentary is widely carried on the internet.
His publishers have included Random House, John Wiley, Westview, Routledge, Macmillan, Verso, Zed Books and Pluto Books. He is winner of the Career of Distinguished Service Award from the American Sociological Association’s Marxist Sociology Section, the Robert Kenny Award for Best Book, 2002, and the Best Dissertation, Western Political Science Association in 1968. His most recent titles include Unmasking Globalization: Imperialism of the Twenty-First Century (2001); co-author The Dynamics of Social Change in Latin America (2000), System in Crisis (2003), co-author Social Movements and State Power (2003), co-author Empire With Imperialism (2005), co-author)Multinationals on Trial (2006).

These are the key concepts of The Fall of the Berlin Wall and the Multiplication of Western Walls
NATO
Berlin Wall
Progressive Walls
Reactionary Walls






lunes, 4 de noviembre de 2019

PORTFOLIO 18.2: WALLS OF DIFFERENT KINDS.



Along the reading about Walls, it shocked me the fact that when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 there were only 16 bordier fences around the world. However, In the 21st century, the purpose of borders has changed leading to a surge in construction of bordier barriers that mark different economic, political and...

Click here to read the complete reflection ... Walls



PORTFOLIO 18.1: WALLS


"Don't ask me where I'm from, ask me where I am a local."

When someone asks you where you're from … do you sometimes not know how to answer? Writer Taiye Selasi speaks on behalf of "multi-local" people, who feel at home in the town where they grew up, the city they live now and maybe another place or two. "How can I come from a country?" she asks. "How can a human being come from a concept?"

The writer Taiye Selasi compares herself with Nike "a multinational brand" stating that she is not an object neither a concept. She establishes that she belongs to numerous places that she has been visiting ,and therefore she cannot be tied to a single country, her parents were born in countries which nowadays do not exist anymore. It can be said that the identity is the mixture of experiencies, Selasi affirms she is multi-local so she does not forget all the cities she has been before and now.  The writer proposes asking ourselves where are we local, she names the three Ts which imply rituals, relationships and restrictions, these are the steps we have to take into account to define our identity.
To my view, this point of gathering the experiences that you have lived is a good way to not to be attached to an unique concept, sharing moments with different people in your daily life. Then, people will be able to be open-minded in terms of cultures, values and stereotypes, and realized the fact that the country of origin does not define ourselves; in a way being local is the best option that we can choose to meet deeply foreigners, classmates, workmates and listen to each other stories. In my opinion, everyone has rituals, relationships and restrictions in other places. Last year I felt serene and relaxed when I went to Misiones, far away from the bustling Longchamps, people from there were so respectful and I could rest from the noisierand rushing daily routine.

"Don't ask me where I'm from, ask me where I am a local."


miércoles, 16 de octubre de 2019

PORTFOLIO #18 WALLS


Sidewalls

Sidewalls is an Argentinian film that allows us to meditate on the fact that people who live in the large urban center feel miserable as they live in a constant rush; ignoring one each other ,inmersing in the technologies of nowadays and having the tendency to be insensitive and gloomy. In some cases this is true,people's expectations are somehow darkened by their experiences.Mariana and Martin, the main characters, are afraid of undergoing  friendships or relationships owing to their failure in love which made them lose their self-esteem and led them to the origin of their phobias. They exhibited guilt due to their couples had abandoned them, as a consequence Martin and Mariana developed an irrational fear (She was claustrophobic and he was a phobic of means of transport).
In my opinion, Sidewalls also reflects the negative aspects of dating;in fact, it is difficult to find a person with the same interests, way of thinking and dreams.The characters are frustated because of their sexual encounters , it will be assumed that they really crave a relationship, since the sense of loneliness and lack of love perpetuated their daily lives. Apart from this,both of them have something in common, they are dependant on their personal objects, it can be said that they make them their treasures ;even though they try to be in contact with strangers, they cannot afford it nor establishing a bond with people being happy neither.

TED has also included WALLS among its talks. Forget Wi-Fi , meet the new Li-Fi Internet by Harald Haas




Harald Haas demonstrates that it is possible to transmit a video from a standard off-the-shelf LED lamp to a solar cell with a laptop acting as a receiver, taking into account that there is no Wi-Fi involved, it is just light. Even though, there will be a massive extension of the Internet to close the digital device and also to allow for what we call "the Internet of things",leading to the connection of  tens of billions of devices to the Internet. Harald encourages the use of existing infrastructure like Li-fi or Light Fidelity to transmit data incredibly fast ;and also in a safe and secure manner due to this data is transported by the light and encoded in subtle changes of the brightness. There are so many LEDs around us , so there is a rich infrastructure of Li-Fi transmitters. Another way of using existing infrastructure to receive data from the Li-Fi lights are solar cells and solar panels. Solar cells absorb light and convert it into electrical energy, for that reason we can use a solar cell to charge our mobile phones.
Harald has discovered that fifty megabytes per second can be received from a standard off-the- shelf solar cell, and it is faster than most broadband connections in these days. In the video he explains and shows a lab demonstration of the process of using a new techonology, in that case he proves that the solar cell is able to decode and stream information. A solar cell has become a receiver for high-speed wireless signals encoded in light, while it maintains its primary function as an energy harvesting device, it could be said that it is possible to use existing solar cells on the roof of a hut to act as a broadband receiver from a laser station on a close by hill, or indeed, lamp post.
I am inclined to believe that this new technology will be useful in order to be aware of other types of receiving data information, We can access to Internet freely with something that it is everywhere and that is light spectrum.This methodology has been experimenting in order to decrease the potentially harmful electromagnetic pollution emitted by wireless internet routers, therefore we are protecting the environment and also access to Internet without paying, it can be said that Li-Fi will provide internet signals fast without interferences in a secure way.

miércoles, 9 de octubre de 2019

PORTFOLIO 17. Arguments and Counterarguments: Capital Punishment.


Jeremy Irons gives arguments and counterarguments against death penalty. They will be developed in the following chart. 


For
Against
Some countries execute people who were under 18 years old when the crime was committed, others use the death penalty against people with mental and intellectual disabilities and several others apply the death penalty after unfair trials
Death penalty is not a deterrent of crime and it is irreversible.
A person who murders other one deserve to die. Any single person must be judged by his/her offends.
There are criminals who prefer to live outside of the rules that society sets. These individuals may never be rehabilitated. The death penalty completely eliminates that possibility from the equation
When someone commits a horrific crime capital punishment provides a safety net for the rest of the society. A sentence of death prevents that person from committing another horrific crime. It also reduces the influence that person would have on prison populations.
Death penalty abuses two of the most basic human rights. Everyone has the right to live and no one shall be subject to torture.
Death penalty  tortures physically  by the brutal nature of execution and psychologically by forcing individuals to wait to be killed
Capital punishment laws create space for potential rehabilitation without dealing with issues of prison over-population.
It costs more to implement the death penalty than offer life in prison.

jueves, 3 de octubre de 2019

PORTFOLIO 16 & WRITING TERM TEST.


Some people think that some types of criminals should not go to prison. Instead they should do unpaid work in the community. To what extent do you agree?

Owing to the great variety of crimes that can be punishable by prison, some people argue that not all criminals are the same and it would therefore be more appropriate to give certain criminals community service instead. I agree that in some cases, prison may not be the best solution and community service would probably have more benefits.

One justification given for prisons is to keep society safe by removing criminals from the outside world. So the first thing to consider is if someone who has broken the law is a danger to other people. In the case of violent crime, there is an argument to keep the perpetrator away from society. However, burglary or possession of drugs, for example, does not involve violence against other people so the criminal does not present a direct danger to anyone in the community. Keeping these types of criminals in prison is expensive for the taxpayer and does not appear to be an effective punishment as they often commit the same crime again when they come out of prison.

Personally, I also believe punishments should reform people so they do not reoffend. A further reason not to put these people in prison is that they may mix with more dangerous and violent criminals, potentially committing a worse crime when they are released. By keeping them in the community, helping others, they not only learn new skills, but they could also develop more empathy and care towards others. If this occurs, society can only benefit.

Critics of this more rehabilitative approach to crime believe that justice should be harsh in order to deter people from committing similar crimes and that community service could be less likely to have that effect. However, there is very little evidence to suggest that long prison sentences deter criminals.

In conclusion, putting criminals who are not a danger to society in prison is expensive and, in my opinion, ineffective, both as a deterrent and as a form of rehabilitation. Community service for non-violent crimes benefits both society and the offender. That said, it would be useful to have more data to work out whether community service or prison is more likely to stop someone reoffending. I strongly believe that decisions on how best to deal with criminals should be based on evidence of what actually works.



Tips

  1. Introduce your essay by restating the question in your own words.
  2. If the essay asks you to what extent do you agree?, make your opinion clear throughout. You can either agree, partially agree or disagree with the statement, explaining and justifying your opinion.
  3. The structure should be:
  • Introduction
  • The first reason why you agree/disagree
  • The second reason why you agree/disagree
  • The third reason why you agree/disagree (if you have one)
  • Conclusion
      4. Use phrases to organise and link your ideas, e.g. Owing to … , One justification for … , The first thing to consider is … , A further reason … , In conclusion ... .
      5. If you do not have solid evidence for your ideas, use modal verbs such as might, may or could (e.g. they could develop more empathy and care) or other tentative phrases (e.g. it does not appear to be an effective punishment).
     6. Conclude by restating your opinion and summarising your two or three main arguments.



Jeremy Irons: Death penalty





Death penalty

Jeremy Irons talks about death penalty, he mentions some arguments and counter arguments against death penalty. His position is against Death penalty,he says that it is not a deterrent against the crime that it punishes and it also does not stop criminal chaos. Even though, it targets the economically disadvantage for those who cannot afford good legal councel, those without a voice in society, it can be assumed that it will help those societies
Nevertheless death penalty is irreversible, and results in the death of innocence when someone is dead a retrospective pardon is of little use to them or their family. Basically, it abuses two of the most basic human rights: everyone has the right to live and no one shall be subject to torture, they are applied to every single human being.Taking everything into consideration, it does not matter how terrible was the crime, everyone has the right to life.

martes, 1 de octubre de 2019


PORTFOLIO 15: Essay Gender Diversity in Education.
Reading textIn most universities there are more male students than female students on science courses. What is the reason for this? What could be done to balance out the numbers? In higher education, science subjects are typically dominated by male students. This negatively impacts the world of work, as fewer females then go into the science, technology and engineering sectors. This essay will explore the reasons for the lack of gender diversity in science and suggest ways to create equal opportunities in this area.The most likely reason for the imbalance is that society reinforces the idea that boys and girls have different interests and abilities. We see this from a very early age when little boys are given cars and Lego while girls get dolls. The former are encouraged to build things whereas the latter learn to care for others. Later on, we are told that girls are better at languages or boys have better spatial awareness. In fact, there is no evidence that biological differences between the sexes make one gender more talented than another at a particular subject. It is society, not nature, that tells us girls should favour arts and humanities and leave maths and physics to the boys.Coupled with this is the lack of positive female role models youngsters see doing science-related jobs. Cartoons and stories often show the crazy scientist, genius inventor, or adventurous astronaut as a man. Furthermore, there is an unfortunate perception that scientists are geeky, have poor social skills or that their work is lonely and detached from the rest of the world. These are false stereotypes portrayed by the media, but they may mean that girls do not identify with scientists, and see science as an unappealing career path. If girls saw more positive female role models in science it would give them more confidence and a greater sense of belonging in those subjects.Given these points, it is important to tackle this issue right from a child's early education. By the time young women are at university, it may already be too late to disprove the view that science is 'not for them'. Hence, for very young children gender-neutral play needs to be encouraged. As children get older, both the education system and the media must raise awareness of female achievements in the field of science, as well as exposing them to a more diverse set of characters in books and films. We need to find ways to show young girls that science is fun, interesting, and, most importantly, theirs too.
  1. Read the question carefully. If the question asks you to discuss the reasons for a problem and suggest solutions, make sure you do both.
  1. In your introduction, restate the question in your own words and say what your essay will do. This essay will outline the reasons for … and offer solutions to the problem.  
  1. Plan the paragraphs of your essay before you write. Start each paragraph with a topic sentence that summarises the main idea of the paragraph.
  1. Develop your position fully by extending your ideas and using examples to support your arguments. Use linking expressions like Coupled withFurthermoreIn fact and Given these points to show what is coming next.
  1. Try to use a wide range of vocabulary. Use natural-sounding collocations like equal opportunities and role model. Avoid repetition by using synonyms or words with similar meanings: girlsyoung womenfemaleschildrenyoungsters. You can also use the former and the latter to refer to things you have just mentioned.
6.Build the conclusion from the ideas in the essay rather than introducing new ones.       Essay Gender diversity in Education      It would be hardworking to enhance academic professions for equal genders, even though gender diversity in education will attain equal opportunities to males and females; providing them an inclusive educational environment from kindergarten to higher education. This essay will outline the different aspects of diversity such as selection of university subjects, students population balance and gender roles.
Sources:
British Council. An essay about women in science. Website:https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/advanced-c1-writing/essay-about-women-science
 SI news. Women are outnumbering men at university





lunes, 16 de septiembre de 2019

PORTFOLIO 14: HEDGING and BOOSTING.



VIDEO 1: THE IMPORTANCE OF HEDGING


Definitions for the concept of hedging:

    Lakoff(1972) "words whose job it is to make things more or less fuzzy"

    Hyland(1995) "Hedging is the expression of tentativeness and possibility in language use" and that, "It represents an absence of certainty and is used to describe any linguistic item or strategy employed to indicate either a lack of commitment to the truth value of an accompanying proposition or a desire not to express that commitment categorically".



1. Hedging example 1


   Categorical Claim


The issues highlighted in this study are applicable to all participating institutions.

 "Hedged" Claim


The issues highlighted in this study may be applicable to many participating institutions.


Crompton (1997) "... a linguistic strategy allowing the author to avoid commiting to the [absolute] truth of a proposition [or statement or claim].


2. Hedging example 2


 Categorical Claim
 

Government support will assure the spread of new knowledge and the skills necessary to use the internet to thousands of people in rural areas.

"Hedged" Claim


Government support may help with the spread of new knowledge and the skills necessary to use the internet to thousands of people in rural areas.


As in the first example, the hedged sentence allows the writer to put some distance between himself and the absoluteness of the claim. We can see that hedging strategies are writing techniques that allow a writer researcher the flexibility to make a claim without making it an absolute or  categorical one.


Academic writing is the language we use to convey answers to research questions. We answer these questions by creating arguments. These arguments are based on claims made  by  an individual which are then supported with evidence. Hedging is a helpful part of this process because often times writer researchers develop good answers to research questions but feel they are not the best only or most complete answer. They are also prepared for other writer researchers to raise objections or point out problems with their answers or research. Hedging allows writer researchers to anticipate and address possible opposition to his or her claims while still contributing something new due to the ongoing dialogue in a research field.Academic writing is a balance of facts and evaluation. The writer researcher tries to take the data and facts they've uncovered as fully accurately and objectively as possible while also showing how they themselves interpret this information. Hedging is important to:



  • Submit new arguments/claims(into an ongoing dialogue) while ackowledging that there might be other,equally valid (or, perhaps, better/more efective) points of view.
  • Make a new contribution to their field in a productive and cooperative way.
  • Have the flexibility to avoid making absolute/categorical statements which claim that the writer/researcher has found the perfect and only answer, hedging allows the writer/researcher to offer something new while leaving room for other voices and perspectives.
  • Participate in ongoing conversations in fields where new evidence is gnerated all the time and it is almost impossible to stay completely up-to-date on the current state of affairs.
Skelton (1998) "It is by measof the hedging system of a language that a user distinguishes between what s/he says and what s/he thinks about what s/he says. Without hedging, the world is purely propositional, a rigid(and rather dull) place where things either are the case or are not. 
With a hedging system, language is rendered more flexible and the world more subtle".           


Hedging gives writer/researchers the flexibility to avoid always having to use black or white language  and to access to a whole palette of different shades of grey. Hedging encourages and allows writer/researchers to be what Skelton calls "Confident Uncertainty"

Confident Uncertainty - this means we need to accurately state how precise we can be when doing something and to feel okey with being imprecise(especially when absolute precision is very difficult(if not) impossible to achieve.

 Three basic hedging strategies that you can use in your own academic writing

  • Using lexical verbs: These are any kind of verb other than auxiliary verbs, some lexical verbs used for hedging include INDICATE, SUGGEST,PROPOSE,APPEAR,ASSUME, ESTIMATE, ARGUE, TEND TO, SEEM AND DOUBT.

3.Hedging example 3


Categorical Claim
The study proves the link between smoking and lung disease.

- "Hedged" Claim
The study indicates/suggests a (possible) link between smoking and lung disease.


  • Using adverbial constructions: These are often used to promote hedged claims as well, some of the most common adverbs used include OFTEN, QUITE, ALMOST, USUALLY, OCCASIONALY, PROBABLY, SOMETIMES, NORMALLY, GENERALLY,POSSIBLY, MAYBE, PERHAPS, LIKELY, CLEARLY AND GENERALLY SPEAKING.

4.Hedging example 4

-Categorical Claim
The number of unemployed people will continue to raise as the poor economic situation persists.

- "Hedged" Claim
The number of unemployed people will probably continue to raise as the poor economic situation persist.


  • Using modal verbs: This is a very coomon technique for  hedging claims. Modal verbs include the  auxiliary verbs MUST, MIGHT, WILL, WOULD, SHOULD, MAY, CAN AND COULD. Modal verbs precede another verb and do not have subject verb agreement or take the infitive to before the next verb. They can change the perspective of a sentence making request more polite or  indicating a stronger logical possibility of a claim. Modals are most often used to express the logical probability of a claim in this role modals can be ranked according to strenght.The modal verb "must" imply a stronger logical relationsip than a claim using the modal verb "might".

5. Hedging example 5

 Categorical Claim
This(and subsequent) studies led to the conclusion that the GTP itself must be  the elusive base, and therefore to the proposal of the GTP-as-base mechanism (Schweins et al.1994,1995).

  "Hedged" Claim
This (and subsequent) studies led to the conclusion that the GTP itself may be the elusive base, and therefore to the proposal of the GTP-as-base mechanism (Schweins et al.1994,1995)

Conclusion:
In academic writing authors often have to be very cautious about the way they present their hypotheses results and conclusionsto indicate less than 100 percent certainty they hedge which means to avoid a categorical or absolute statement. Writers/researchers use hedging techniques for two reasons:

  1.  To tone down their statement in order to reduce the threat of opposition from other researchers.
  2. To avoid overstating their results as they are aware that theirs may not be the final word of the issue.

HEDGING AND BOOSTING

Hedging language  is useful in academic writing as it is often not possible to make a  100% or absolute claim from the  information or data that we have.

Hedging: Hedging language is used when we want to soften what we are saying to avoid making too strong a claim.e.g.


General statement / Categorical Claim
Students arrive lare for Monday morning classes.

Qualified claim / "Hedged" Claim
Students tend to arrive late for Monday morning classes.

In the first sentence we are making a general statement which means that all students always arrive late for monday morning classes, in most cases this is likely to be an overgeneralization and it would be easy to show that this was not always true. In the second sentence, we have "tend to" which limit or qualified our claim.


Boosting: It strengthens a statement so that the author can present a strong point of view. e.g.

Clearly
these sales figures show definite increase on consumer confidence which will undoubtedly have an impact on our share price.

Boosting words are: clearly, definite and undoubtedly. These words are used to show a strong point of view and to persuade the reader to the author's point.
Boosting strategies:
  • Using adverbs of frequency like ALWAYS or NEVER.e.g.
Employees will always respond positively in such circumstances.

  • Using adverbs and adjectives of certainty such as CERTAIN, CERTAINLY. OBVIOUS, OBVIUOSLY, DEFINITE, DEFINITELY, CONCLUSIVE, CONCLUSIVELY, EVIDENT, EVIDENTLY.
Certainly, this has had an impact on learning outcomes.
This certainly has had an impact on learning outcomes.

This has an obvious impact on learning outcomes.
This obviously has an impact on learning outcomes.
  • Modal verbs such as WILL, SHOULD.e.g.
This WILL have a impact on future research in the field.
  • Other verbs like SHOW, PROVE AND EVIDENCE.e.g.
These figures prove that there has been strong growth as a result of policy change.

Example of a Boosting and Hedging sentence:

BOOSTING:

Clearly, these sales figures show a definite increase in consumer confidence which will undoubtedly have an impact on our share prices.

HEDGING:

These sales figures suggest a possible increase in consumer confidence, which may have an impact on our share prices.

We can see that hedging and boosting language makes a big difference to the message. It is important to know how to hedge and how to boost and we must be aware of the cultural differences.Hedging is more common in English than boosting. Boosting and hedging also differ by subject. Research has shown that hedging is more common in the arts and the social sciences than in the hard sciences.


HEDGING AND BOOSTING: 
Vocaroo Voice Message

Source:

  • The nature of writing.16 de agosto de 2017. The Nature of Writing - hedges and boosters

  • Awu.18 de Agosto de 2015.Hedging in Academic Writing.

  • Griffth University.26 de Agosto de 2015. Learn English - Hedging and Boosting.
Website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU-KgiVsAxY

sábado, 24 de agosto de 2019

PORTFOLIO 13: CANCELLED CLASS


Writing process increases students ‘ confidence when they write in classroom. They could follow the steps that teachers show them to increase the efectiveness of well structured and coherent draft. Firstly, the selection of a topic that will be interesting to the reader, students could choose the subject matter to write about. Secondly, the ordering of ideas (it is important to make a brainstoming in order to select the ideas that are useful for your writing) and finally, the conclusión or closing sentence.



Nominalizations are nouns that are created from adjectives (words that describe nouns) or verbs (action words). For example, “interference” is a nominalization of “interfere,” “decision” is a nominalization of “decide,” and “argument” is a nominalization of “argue.”
Below are some of the more common nominalizations (on the left) and their original forms (on the right):

Nouns
Verbs
Intention
Intend
Intervention
Intervene
Distortion
Distort
Evolution
Evolve
Interference
Interfere
Discrimination
Discriminate
Decision
Decide
Assumption
Assume
Collection
Collect
Investigation
Investigate
Expansion
Expand
Disagreement
Disagree
Discussion
Discuss

Below are some of the more common nominalizations (on the left) and their original forms (on the right):

Nouns
Verbs
Intention
Intend
Intervention
Intervene
Distortion
Distort
Evolution
Evolve
Interference
Interfere
Discrimination
Discriminate
Decision
Decide
Assumption
Assume
Collection
Collect
Investigation
Investigate
Expansion
Expand
Disagreement
Disagree
Discussion
Discuss






video n°1 


video n°2




    Samples of video n°1
  •  I handed my essay in late because my kids got sick
  • The reason for the late submission of my essay was the illnes of my children
Both of the utterances have the same content, the same set of actions or events in the real world but they have lexical differences. Each of the two sentences describe processes expressed by verbs and they are turning to nouns (quality thing, process thing , etc).
Written language in academic texts tends to be highly nominalized, content words like verbs or adjectives turn to noun groups. By turning verbs and other parts of speech into nouns we increase the possible content of our text, that is, its lexical density.

  In the first video there are samples of two utterances which have the same message but there are linguistic differences between them.
    In the first one it is presented the process thing : Because the jobs are more complex, programs to train people will take longer. In the second sentence it is presented the quality thing : The increased complexity of tasks will lead to the extension of the training programs. 
In the second sentence the process thing is turned to the thing extension, that is to say the latter sentence has changed of register,the writer will use noun groups in formal texts. As regards the two utterances, the second utterance is a clear sample of academic text writing as it is lexically dense and content words are turned to noun groups (complex, train, longer)

In the second video, nominalization is considered a cannibalism of verbs and adjectives.
"The proliferation of nominalizations in a discursive formation may be an indication of a tendency towards pomposity and abstraction", In this sample there are seven nominalizations. In the video one of the hypothesis is that writes who overload their sentences with nominalizations tend to sound pompous and abstract, they impide us to have a clear conversation and maybe they will make the readers go to sleep.