Notes, abstracts, papers, exams and problems of Language

Space and Confinement in *The Metamorphosis*

Space is very limited in The Metamorphosis. All the action happens in the home of the Samsa family. The layout is significant, but more than the floor plan, the most important aspect is Gregor's room. Connected to this topic is the importance of the number three.

In the house, we find three rooms, and in the center of these is Gregor's. In addition to Gregor's room, there are three doors, one to each room, and only one window facing the street. Almost the entire story takes place in Gregor's room; his life is inextricably linked to it. The window, which could be an escape route, provides more light than the stark hospital street outside.

The fact that Gregor's room is in the middle gives us the idea... Continue reading "Metamorphosis: Isolation and Dehumanization in Kafka's Story" »

Verb Phrase

It's composed of at least one verb and the dependents of that verb.

Adjective Phrase

Refers to a phrase built upon an adjective, which functions as the head of that phrase. "much quicker than I".

Adverbial Phrase

Term for a group of two or more words operating adverbially. "I'll go to bed soon".

Coordination

Uses coordinating conjunctions, conjunctive adverbs, or punctuation to combine short independent clauses into a simple sentence. "The football game has been postponed, so we will have to do something else"

Subordination

Transforms independent clauses into dependent clauses. The football game has been postponed. We'll have to do something else.

Correlative Conjunction

"either...or", "nor...only", "but...also", "so...as", "whether...or".... Continue reading "Understanding English Grammar: Phrases, Clauses, and Word Formation" »

Dramatic Subgenres

• Tragedy: Presents conflicts that cannot be solved by the characters, as they are marked by fate. The outcome is always unfortunate.
• Comedy: Shows everyday life issues and aims to entertain. The protagonists are ordinary people. The outcome is always happy.
• Drama: A conflict painful for the characters. The protagonists are common. It mixes tragic and comical elements, and the ending can be happy or unhappy.

Argumentative Texts in the Media

• Editorial: Sets out the terms of the means of communication on a topical issue. It is a text that is signed and employs formal vocabulary.
• Chronicle: Expanded news and commentary. Parts:
  • News: Objective information of events.
  • Comment: Exploring the journalist, usually performed in the third

Don Quixote: Cervantes' Masterpiece

Genesis

Don Quixote is Cervantes' masterpiece. It consists of two parts: the first was published in 1605 and the second ten years later, in 1615. The first is more spontaneous; it seems written on the fly. The second is much more thought out and responds to a well-laid plan. Both show some structural parallelism. The apocryphal Quixote is very interesting because it reveals the outrage that the publication of the first part of Cervantes would have caused in the circle of Lope de Vega. El Quixote de Avellaneda becomes a spokesman for a noble reaction to the intrusion that the nobility led to the claim of a mere gentleman, like Alonso Quijano, passing as a gentleman.

Characters

There are two central characters... Continue reading "Don Quixote: Cervantes' Masterpiece Unveiled" »

Consistency in Text

Consistency is an inherent property of all text, which is the ability to form a unified whole in which the parts remain locked to each other in content. In other words, a text is coherent:

1. When presented with a meaningful unity or sense, be seen from the existence of a clear and specific topic (global or thematic coherence).
2. When the component parts are not isolated but are connected to each other, forming a structure (linear or structural coherence).
3. When the successive statements convey ideas or judgments that do not violate the basic principles of logic, common sense, or universal standards of human development (local coherence).

Global Consistency

All information contained in a text is built around a core sheet or issue closely... Continue reading "Understanding Text Consistency: Global, Linear, and Local" »

Word Formation: Morphology

Morphology is the science that studies the form of words. It defines and describes their units, which are the word, the root, the base, and the morpheme. The morpheme is the least significant morphological constituent of a word. Grammatical affixes are bound morphemes attached to a lexical base. Inflectional morphology deals with the grammatical accidents of variable words, manifested through inflections.

Normal flexion includes changes of nouns and adjectives to express gender and number. Verbs can be regular or irregular; the former have an unchanged base and the latter have variations in the root or allomorphy. The vocalic theme, along with the lexical base, is the verb stem. The characteristic aspect expresses the... Continue reading "Word Formation and Sentence Structure in Linguistics" »

Metaphor

A metaphor establishes a similarity between two terms based on a shared characteristic or quality. It's a way of talking about something in two ways. In poetic metaphors, this characteristic is emphasized to say the same thing but more beautifully.

Examples of Metaphors:

• Your eyes are two stars (meaning your eyes are bright or illuminated).
• Your hair is golden (blonde hair).

Example of a Text Full of Metaphors:

His eyes, like rivers after the rain, expressed not only sadness, but vengeance also, like lava poured from the tip of an erupting volcano. Those tears, breaking like glass as they touched the ground, were not worth it. It was from anger and the rage of impotence, the same powerlessness a child feels when an adult steals their candy,... Continue reading "Literary Devices and Figures of Speech" »

Characteristics of Spanish Baroque Theater

• Combines tragic and comic elements.
• Shows little respect for the rule of three unities (action, time, space).
• Characters are often simple archetypes: protagonist, antagonist, lover, servant, comic relief, etc.
• The main plot is driven by love and honor, closely linked. In Baroque theater, characters may kill to defend their honor, considered a person's greatest asset—individually, within the family, and in society.
• Follows a simple three-act structure (beginning, middle, and end).
• Employs stanzas of verse.
• Performances were accompanied by music and dance.
• Features a wide variety of themes: love, religion, history, legends, etc.

Capitalization Rules

• Names, surnames, nicknames, and aliases are capitalized.
• Names

Sociolect Concept

Sociolect Concept: Linguistic diversity may arise from the distribution of speakers as a function of belonging to certain groups or social strata. In other words, it is the way a language is used within a particular social stratum of the linguistic community.

Factors Influencing Sociolects

• Sex: Differences in education, employment, or social norms can lead to variations in the speech of men and women.
• Age: Younger people are often more innovative and less systematic in their language use, while more mature individuals tend to adhere to established norms. Older individuals may use archaic language.
• Environment: The rural environment can influence language use, to the point where city slang may emerge as a way for speakers in large

Poetry: An Expression of Beauty

Poetry is the expression of beauty or aesthetic feeling through words, whether in verse or prose. We understand verse as subject to words and cadence or rhythm, while prose is the structure or form that language naturally takes to express concepts, not subject to the same cadence as verse. The rhythmic art of combining words is not the only thing that distinguishes poetry from narrative.

This combination is what we call rhyme, the matching of final syllables in subsequent or alternate verses. There are two types of rhymes:

• Consonant rhyme: When all the letters of the last syllable agree on two or more subsequent lines.
• Assonance rhyme: When only the vowels match.

We can classify poetry into three categories:

1. Epic poetry