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

Topic and Summary

Topic: Briefly state the central theme of the article, focusing on its subtopics.

Summary: Provide a concise overview of the article's main points using simple, non-compound sentences. Avoid directly copying phrases from the text.

Organizational Structure

Paragraphs and Connectors: Analyze the use of paragraphs and connectors. Determine whether the paragraphs are short or long. Identify the introduction, development (with supporting arguments), and conclusion (if present). Note whether the thesis is explicitly stated or implied.

Arguments: Identify the types of arguments used, such as authority, modeling, general knowledge, personal experience, or statistical evidence.

Structure: Determine if the structure is deductive (thesis at... Continue reading "Analyzing Newspaper Articles: A Comprehensive Breakdown" »

I Pursue a Form by Rubén Darío

I pursue a form that is not my style,
a bud of thought that seeks to be the rose;
it is announced with a kiss that on my lips settles
the impossible embrace of the Venus de Milo.

Green palms adorn the white colonnade;
the stars have foretold me the vision of the Goddess;
and in my soul rests the light as it lies,
the bird of the moon on a calm lake.

And I find nothing but the word that flees;
the initiation of the flute melody that flows;
the boat that sleeps in space as it vogues;

and under the window of my Sleeping Beauty,
the continuous sob of the fountain's stream,
and the great white swan's neck that questions me.

Rubén Darío. Prosas Profanas and Other Poems.

Context and Theme

This poem, entitled "I Pursue

Fitness: Textual Analysis for Optimal Communication

Intelligibility

Understandability: The text must be easily understood by the intended audience.

Theme and Purpose: Clearly define the subject matter, whether specialized or general. Determine the communicative purpose, such as to inform, explain, or persuade.

Channel: Consider the medium of communication, whether spoken or written. Spoken language allows for ellipsis, while writing requires explicit situational context.

Degree of Formality: Choose the appropriate level of formality and form of address (e.g., you, formal you).

Field of Communication: Utilize the conventions of the specific textual genre.

Coherence

Amount of Information: The text should contain only the necessary information, avoiding... Continue reading "Achieving Optimal Fitness: A Comprehensive Textual Analysis" »

Key Points and Literary Works

1. The War of the Worlds by Bryan Haskin: This story illustrates how a radio broadcast, intended as a joke, caused widespread panic. It claimed that Martians were invading Earth, leading to injuries and suicides. This highlights the significant influence of media on social and everyday life.
2. Pseudonyms and Nicknames: The frequent use of pseudonyms, aliases, and nicknames in literature and media.
3. Inclination: This refers to a thematic preference, similar to a recurring motif.
4. Belisa Crepusculario by Isabel Allende: This story features a woman who sells words at varying prices. She utilizes a form of oral communication and even composes love letters, showcasing the power of language.
5. The Things Seen by Jorge Teillier: This

Semantic Relationships and Word Meaning

Denotation: Objective Word Meaning

The objective meaning of a word, its basic or literal sense, referring directly to the things it names.

Connotation: Subjective Word Meaning

The additional, subjective meaning a word acquires based on context, associations, or emotional overtones.

Semantic Fields in Linguistics

A set of words that share a common sense or theme, where each word's meaning is often defined in opposition to or in relation to others within the field.

Components of Word Meaning

• Sema: A distinctive semantic feature that contributes to a word's meaning.
• Sememe: A set or bundle of semas that constitute the meaning of a word.
• Arquisema: The common sema shared by all words within a specific semantic field.

The Expansion of Information

A) Expansion of Information Resources

• Apposition

  An apposition is a word or phrase that is positioned immediately after another and that serves to explain something because of consequence (explanatory apposition) or to add information that differentiates and specifies (specifying apposition). Example: "Water, the vital element, had a strong presence in that garden."

• The Example

  The example serves to define or specify a general statement. Example: "My neighbor is a consumer; for example, his greatest happiness is walking through the malls on weekends in order to buy pleasure."

• Sentences with Adjectives and Explanatory Specifications

  Examples: "The students, who study, will pass" and "The students studying will pass."

• Paraphrases

Analyzing Rosalía de Castro's Poetic Innovation

Poetic Structure and the Voice of Nature

The analysis begins by noting the subtle rhyme employed by Rosalía de Castro, often described as defying conventional expectations—as if "plants do not speak" traditional verse forms. This poem utilizes:

• Assonant Rhyme (rima asonante).
• Varying Stanza Structure: Stanzas contain different numbers of verses (e.g., seven, five, and two).
• Monorhyme Hexadecasyllables: Lines of sixteen syllables that rhyme consistently within each stanza (e.g., á-o, a-a, é-o).

The main literary resources to identify include pomposity, symbolism, and epithets. In terms of content, the poem exhibits a marked subjective nature. This is shown in the lyric self, who believes they hear... Continue reading "Rosalía de Castro: Prosody, Symbolism, and the Objective Correlative" »

Linguistic Variation

Linguistic variation can be categorized into several types:

• Diatopic Variation: This refers to variations between different geographical areas where the language is spoken. For example, differences between Castilian Spanish and Andalusian Spanish.
• Diastratic Variation: These variations are associated with different social strata and give rise to sociolects.
  • Sociolects are determined by social, educational, and cultural factors. These factors lead to different language levels:
    1. Cultivated: This is a highly elaborate code, characterized by fluent writing, correct syntax, and abundant, appropriate terminology.
    2. Vulgar: This level is marked by the speaker's difficulty, or even failure, in producing certain types of messages and

Understanding Pablo Neruda's 'Walking Around'

The poem "Walking Around" is part of the poetry collection Residencia en la Tierra (Residence on Earth), which belongs to the second cycle of Pablo Neruda's poetic output, spanning the years 1931 to 1935. This period delves into the poet's inner world.

During this phase of literary production, Neruda, influenced by Surrealism, developed a vision of a culturally disintegrated and painful world. The poet, in this context, delves into the unconscious.

Residencia en la Tierra is a product of the loneliness and isolation Neruda experienced during his stay in the East as a diplomat. This was a profoundly painful chapter in his life, which Neruda himself called a "season in hell."

The perspective in this work... Continue reading "Pablo Neruda's 'Walking Around': Poetic Insights and Themes" »

Language and Dialect

Language: The fundamental instrument of social communication among members of a particular linguistic community, it serves as the hallmark of this community.

Dialect: Each of the language modalities present in different regions within its domain.

Horizontal Bilingualism: The balance of two or more languages in similar or comparable social situations, where both hold the same social and cultural prestige.

Diglossia: The imbalance between two or more languages where one enjoys greater social prestige and effectively dominates the other with which it coexists.

Cohesion in Language

Cohesion: A necessary condition for coherence. Cohesion is studied in spoken and written language. Methods of achieving cohesion include:

• Lexical Recurrence: