Assignment 3.6: Meaning Through Language and Performance

1. Learning Targets

2. Oral Language

Language, in all its forms, constructs personal and social and cultural identities.  Oral Language is the system through which we use spoken words to express knowledge, ideas, and feelings.  There are many strategies we use to make our spoken language more effective.

Oral language uses a variety of voice techniques. The following list shows you how and why you can vary your voice:

• pace – fast to show excitement, slow to show importance
• pitch – high to show excitement, low to show importance and authority
• intonation – the rise and fall of your voice when you speak
• inflection – when your voice goes up at the end of the sentence as if you were asking a question
• tone – feeling needs to suit the words said
• volume – loud to show excitement, soft to show fear
• pause – a planned rest in your speaking to emphasize an idea
• enunciation - pronounce words or parts of words clearly
• emphasis - stress laid on a word or words to indicate special meaning or particular importance

Source:  http://www.studyit.org.nz/subjects/english/english2/5/subjectcontent/orallanguage/

3. Performance Techniques

Don't forget the importance of good performance techniques which can include...

• Nonverbal techniques - facial expressions, the tone and pitch of the voice, gestures displayed through body language and the physical distance between the communicators
• use of props or effective visuals
• humour
• eye contact
• memorize
• asking questions - rhetorical questions

Listen to country music legend Reba McEntire discuss the importance of good performance techniques in her Masterclass on engaging an audience.

4. Types of Language

As well, the use of language in texts shapes readers' and viewers' construction of meaning and appreciation of an author's craft.  Types of language used include:

• Colloquial - conversational language
• Dialect - a particular form of language that is specific to a region or social group
• Vernacular  - the language or dialect spoken by the ordinary people in a particular country or region
• Accent  - a distinctive mode of pronunciation of a language, especially associated with a particular nation, locality, or social class.
• Slang  - a type of language that consists of words or phrases that are regarded as very informal, are more common in speech than writing, and are typically restricted to a particular context or group of people
• Jargon - special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand.
• Idiomatic expressions - phrases, sayings or a group of words that has a metaphorical (not literal) meaning, which has become accepted in common usage - idioms
• Satirical - a form of communication that uses humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to criticize humanity's vices - satire

Further explanation of these terms can be found at Literary Definitions.

5. ASSIGNMENT 3.6

Go to the "3.6 Meaning Through Language and Performance" Assignment  on the main page of the course to complete this section.

6. ASSIGNMENT 3.7: QUIZ: Descriptive Writing

Task:

Please complete the 3.7 Descriptive Writing quiz on the main page of the course.