Analyse how the write uses language to create meanings and representations (25 marks)

 The writer uses language in the 'How Americanisms are killing the English Language newspaper article to create meanings and representations in a range of ways including writing in a conversational manner and representing Americans in a negative light.

The winter presents the newspaper article as more of a conversation, shown by a use of varying sentence lengths to make the article more casual. This informality represents the writer as trying to relate to his target audience with the conversational language such as 'so it turns out' and the use of speaking in first person. The writer incles sophisticated language to appeal to his target audience with 'cantankerous' and 'polemic' that people interested in the article are likely to use in their day to day vocabulary. Also, by beginning their sentences with 'So' and 'Because', the writer is generating even more of a conventional and casual tone to their article and it creates an impression of talking to the reader individually and relating to their thoughts and opinions.

In the article, the writer represents the American language in a negative way to suggest that the writer doesn't appreciate the adoption of American language into our own. The use of the metaphor 'my mother tongue has been irreparably corrupted bu the linguistic equivilent of the grey squirrel' suggests that the writer is reppresenting the American slang language taken on by the British as an infestation that eventually kills out more of the language as the reference to the grey squirrel suggests. As well as this the verb 'corrupted' is one of negativity as though our deveopment of the English Language is bad and the use of it being in past tense and paired with 'irreparably' represents it as something irreversable and therefore a loss for the British people.

The writer also uses language to represent the patriotism of the older generation in British society and how they don't support anything that threatens their Britishness. This is presented with the sarcastic short sentence 'Because by English, I mean British English'. By including 'British', it suggests that the writer is patriotic and doesn't agree with the use of Americanisms added to the language and, apired with the conversational language it is written in therefore addressing the readers directly, neither do the readers.

In conclusion, the writers use of different language creates a sense of patriotism and represents thmsleves and the audience as against this change of the 'British' language.

Teacher Comments: Always begin with a definite precise point. (13/25)

A01: Uses kinguistc terminology consistently and appropriately to task e.g. sentence types (6/10)

A03: Identifies distinctive features of language that link to context of the writer, some subtle interlligent links explored. (7/15)

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