Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Language

Item 8: Language and Art

1. The Sign and its Components

A sign is anything that represents and communicates something. This includes all signs that humans use, such as language, art, and mathematics. Linguistic signs can be differentiated into:

• A signifier: the "perceptible" part of the sign, whether sounds (phonemes) or graphics (letters).
• A meaning: what the sign represents. This meaning can be an object (referent) or a "mental concept."

2. Syntax, Semantics, and Pragmatics: Parts of Language

• Syntax examines combinations of signifiers.
• Semantics focuses on the study of the meaning of linguistic signs.
• Pragmatics is concerned with the use of language in terms of the relationship established between utterance, context, and actors. It analyzes how speakers

Distinctive Features of Goods and Services

Intangibility: The Non-Physical Nature of Services

Intangibility is the distinctive feature of services that prevents us from touching or feeling them, unlike material goods.

Challenges Posed by Intangibility

• Unable to store services (e.g., Cleaning service).
• Lack of patent protection (e.g., Catering/restaurants).
• Difficult to display or communicate the service offering (e.g., Life insurance).
• Difficult to price accurately (e.g., Music concert).

Solutions for Managing Intangibility

• Use of tangible clues (the material elements of the service environment): office decor, furniture, employee clothing, personnel demeanor, etc.
• Using personal sources of information, such as word-of-mouth referrals about the service.

The narrative is a type of text that includes real or fictional events that happen to characters in a certain space and time.

The narrator is the person who has the facts.

Types of Narrators

• External Omniscient Narrator: An outside observer.
• Internal Narrator Protagonist: A character within the story.
• Internal Narrator Minor Character: A secondary character's perspective.

Narrative Dialogue

The narrative dialogue is when the author presents directly the words of the characters in the story.

• Direct Style: Plays the exact words characters say.
• Speech: The narrator tells us what was said by the characters.
• Free Indirect Style: A mix between the two.
• Monologue: A character talks to themselves or directs someone without expecting an answer.

Description in Narrative

The... Continue reading "Understanding Narrative Texts: Types and Functions Explained" »

Communication is a process whereby the issuer prepares and transmits a message, which is then received and decoded by a receiver.

Elements of communication: the code, the channel, the transmitter, and the receiver context.

Feedback: Feedback is the response or reaction of the receiver to the message sent by the transmitter.

Interaction: Reciprocal activity between two or more people.

Group Discussion Techniques

Phillips 66 is a technique where six people discuss a particular issue, exchanging views on a subject for a maximum of six minutes.

Features:

• 1. Presence of a moderator, who leads and guides the discussion, ensuring that ideas relate to the topic.
• 2. A topic is chosen on which participants agree, and this is presented by the moderator.
• 3. Each

Cultural Identity

A sense of belonging to a group with which one shares ideas, customs, language, etc., transmitted from generation to generation.

Integration

The participation and identification of immigrants with the host country without losing their specific cultural characteristics.

Citizenship

Being a citizen means not just being part of society, but actively participating in the life of society, enjoying equal rights and complying with certain obligations.

Advertising

A communication technique that encourages consumers to buy products or services of a particular brand.

Consumer Law

Consumers have a number of rights as enshrined in Article 51:

• Right to protection of health and security: Products that pose a health risk cannot be sold, and if there

Express Postal Services

National Express Postal

Service delivery to the consignee's address within the national territory, up to a limit of 20 kg.

International Express Postal

Urgent document delivery to major European cities, with an average two-day delivery time.

Letter Shipping

National and international urgent letter shipping, up to 2 kg. Letters can be sent certified, with an option for return receipt requested.

Luggage Service

Internal mail or urgent deliveries for companies.

Package Services

Blue Package

The Blue Package is delivered to the recipient's address, or can be picked up at our business and home locations. It circulates certified, ensuring its security and offering additional reimbursement services.

International Parcel

Documents or goods... Continue reading "National & International Postal and Money Services" »

Signs and Their Types:

A sign is any perceptible element that represents an idea, a feeling, or a reality.

The sign is a structure that is:

• Significant: The part that the recipient receives through any of the senses.
• Meaning: The concept associated with the significant.
• Reference: The external reality to which the sign refers.

Signs are classified as:

• Visual: A picture.
• Acoustic: A whistle.
• Olfactory: A scent.
• Taste: A wine taster.
• Touch: A tactile sensation.

According to the relationship between the signifier and the signified, signs are classified as:

• Indications: The signifier and signified bear a causal relationship.
• Icons: The relationship of resemblance or similarity.
• Symbols: The signifier and signified are associated by convention.

----------------... Continue reading "Understanding Signs and Their Types in Communication" »

Modalization Markers: Author's Presence in Text

Modalization refers to the author's presence in the text. This presence is conveyed through several markers, including the sentence structure itself, and can be supplemented by the following linguistic elements:

• Verbal Mode: Indicates objectivity (indicative), subjectivity (subjunctive, expressing desire, doubt, or fear), or mandate (imperative).
• Evaluative Lexical Items: Includes evaluative adjectives, evaluative nouns, and adverbs or adverbial phrases of valuation.
• Modal Verbs and Paraphrases:
  • Cognitive verbs (e.g., believe, think).
  • Verbs of feeling.
  • Volitional verbs (e.g., want, need, especially in the first person).
  • Modal paraphrases expressing obligation or probability.
• Affixes (Prefixes and Suffixes)

Analysis of Bécquer's Rima XXIV: Two Red Tongues of Fire

Subject and Abstract

Subject: The fullness of love.

Abstract: In this rhyme, Bécquer focuses on the profound union with the loved one. This partnership creates a deep sense of harmony.

Stanza-by-Stanza Symbolism

Stanza 1: Flames of Passion

In the first stanza, Bécquer envisions himself and his beloved as two flames emanating from the same burning log, their touch symbolizing a passionate embrace. The stanza notably begins with the word 'Two', which is repeated later, emphasizing duality merging into one.

Stanza 2: Harmonious Notes

In the second stanza, the symbolism shifts. He represents himself and his loved one as distinct musical notes from a lute which, like the flames previously, merge... Continue reading "Bécquer's Rima XXIV: Analysis of Love's Unifying Symbols" »

Symbolism of the Train

The train is a real element, but it also holds a specific symbolic purpose. For viewers, it symbolizes triumph and victory. It's an element tied to memory, particularly for Vicente. However, it also represents the triumph of oppression, the root of his ongoing anguish and eventual death. Getting on or off the train signifies taking or refusing to take sides in society's game. The sound of the train is more prevalent in the first part; in the second, its meaning prompts thought and meditation.

The Role of Light

The work features significant changes in lighting. One scene, featuring Él and Ella, is marked by clarity.

The Well and Warnings

Regarding the setting and foreshadowing:

• Mario tells Vicente:

  "And that's what I like about