ingles para fines especificos essay esp

8/18/2019 Ingles Para Fines Especificos Essay Esp

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INDEX

1. Introduction 2

2. Analysis text 1: A complaint letter 3

2.1. Register analysis

2.2. Genre analysis

2.2.1. Conventions of the genre

2.2.2. Communicative politeness

3. Analysis text 2: Scientific article 6

3.1. Register analysis3.2. Genre analysis

3.2.1. Conventions of the genre


4. Analysis text 3: Patient information leaflet 8


4.2. Genre analysis4.2.1. Conventions of the genre

4.2.2. Characteristics of the patient information leaflet genre

4.2.2.1. Writing style4.2.2.2. Typeface and layout of the information

4.2.2.3. Headings

4.2.2.4. Use of images

5. Annexes 12

- Text 1: A complaint letter

- Text 2: Scientific article

- Text 3: Patient information leaflet


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1. I NTRODUCTION

The term English for Specific Purposes (ESP) refers to a specific genre of

English for users with specific goals. Examples include:

- English for Academic Purposes (for students and researchers),- Business English (for business people),

- Medical English (for nurses, doctors, other health care professionals).

In sum, ESP is English for vocational purposes, where the word “vocation” is

used loosely to include education and all kinds of employment.

From the early 1960's, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has grown to become one

of the most prominent areas of EFL teaching today.

When dealing with the analysis of any kind of text we have different paradigms

in linguistic investigation that must be taken into account. Some of them are:

a) Structuralism: it focuses on the description of sentences and structures.

According to structuralists language is seen as a system.

b) Generativism: it focuses on the psychological component in language

description. According to Robert de Beaugrande “Generativism can designate an

approach for relating language to the intuitive knowledge of speakers and to the

mental capacities of humans at large."

c) Pragmatics: it studies the ways in which context contributes to meaning.

According to pragmatics language has to be seen as discourse or text, and they

also consider language as a crucial element for communication.

d) Cognitive Linguistics: it is the study of language in its cognitive function,

where cognitive refers to the crucial role of intermediate informational structures

with our encounters with the world as they assume that our interaction with the

world is mediated through informational structures in the mind.

This piece of work consists on the analysis of three different texts from the

perspectives of the register analysis (structuralism) and the genre analysis (pragmatics).


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2. ANALYSIS TEXT 1: COMPLAINT LETTER


According to the lexical characteristics of text 1, we can see that the vocabulary

it includes belongs mainly to the category of general English. As the letter is about a problem with a flower company (ABC Flower Company) we can find some technical

vocabulary related to gardening: floral, bouquets, wreaths, swags,

Concerning to the grammatical characteristics, and focusing on syntactical preferences,

we find mainly simple short sentences:

“We also were overcharged”

“Everything arrived except the large plant”

“I believe we can come to a positive solution”

Though, it contains examples of coordination:

“Merely have the correct bill sent to me AND have the final plant delivered”

“... send the missing plant and adjust my account accordingly”

The letter contains some passive constructions whose aim is to emphasize the receiver

of the action denoted by the verb (in this case the person who writes the letter and the

people in his office):

“We were charged for all the plants”

“I am told they will look after it”

Modal verbs are also included in order to show a polite preference (“ I would like to

continue to do business with your com pany”) or the existence of a possibility (“... we

can come to a positive solution”)

In relation to the verbal tenses used, we find three clear differentiations:

a) In the first part of the letter (from line 1 to line 14) the writer is narrating the

events, and because of that, the verb tenses used are referring to the past (past

simple and past perfect): received, contracted, had agreed , etc.

b) Once the author exposes the facts, the second step is to give a description of the

actual situation of the problem. In order to do so, the present simple tense is

used:

“I am told...”

“I continue...”

“I believe...”


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3. ANALYSIS TEXT 2: SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE


Considering the lexical characteristics of the text we can find that it is written

using semi-technical vocabulary (made up by units which acquire a specific meaning ina specific moment): values, constant, plates, relative,...

It also contains technical vocabulary (univocal lexical units which have only one

meaning): logarithmic, megawatts, radionic, kiloton...

Since the article is about earthquakes, we can find different vocabulary related to

the semantic field of seismology such as Ritcher scale, quake, seismic, tectonic....

In relation with the grammatical characteristics of the text, we can find examples

of passive sentences (this construction is frequently used in scientific language):

“Earthquakes on Earth are reported and classified using a logarithmic scale”.

“Energy of an earthquake can be estimated from its magnitude...”

Modal verbs are also present in the sample text: may come. could be, should

become, must be,...

Most of the sentences are long and complex, showing a subordination relation:

“This article presents a method of monitoring seismic activity on Earth on the

basis of the accumulated annual energy of all observed earthquakes”

“For practical purposes it is convenient to calculate the annual earthquake

energy ratio relative to the year when reasonably accurate earthquake records began”.

The article also contains different cases of word formation. We can see

compounding (earthquake, database, radioactive, Megawatts), derivation (humanity,

planetary, awareness) and acronyms (USGS, TNT, NASA)

3.2. Genre analysis

A scientific article explains the scientist's motivation for doing an experiment,

the experimental design and execution, and the meaning of the results. Scientific articles

are written in a style that is exceedingly clear and concise. Their purpose is to inform an

audience of other scientists about an important issue and to document the particular

approach they used to investigate that issue.


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3.2.1. Conventions of genre

3.2.1.1 Generic structure

3.2.1.1.1. Primary structure: this refers to the main sections of a

research article

Abstract

Introduction

Method (In the sample text this section doesn’t appear)

Results (In the sample text this section doesn’t appear)

Conclusions

Bibliography (In the sample text it appears as “References”)

3.2.1.1.1. Secondary structure: This is closely related to the aim

of the article. In this case it is about Earthquake Energy Rise on

Earth, and because of that, the sections “ Earthquake Energy” and

“ Rising Earthquake Energy on Earth” contain the core of the

research. Scientific articles usually include a “figure” as it is the

case to show some data to the reader.


Negative politeness strategies: two of the most used negative politeness

strategies in research articles are impersonalization and hedging.

It usually happens that research articles are written with impersonality, and the reasons

may be diverse: some people say it is in order to avoid responsibility and others say it is

just a question of linguistic economy. In the text we can find impersonalization by

means of:

Passives: “ Earthquakes on Earth are reported and classified using a

logarithmic scale”

Impersonal verbs: “ It is convenient to calculate the annual earthquake

energy ratio”

Nominalizations: “The observed 5-fold increase in annual earthquake

energy in the period 1980-2007 and the rapidly increasing trend are

alarming”

In scientific language we have to pay attention to the concept of “cautious language”often called hedging. It is necessary to make decisions about our stance on a particular


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subject or the strength of the claims we are making. In the sample text it is done by

means of:

Modals: “Motion of tectonic plates should therefore become slower and

the...”

Semi-auxiliaries: “... energy from the Sun that is able to radiate back to

space”

Epistemic verbs: “Something must be fundamentally wrong with the

currently adopted planetary interior theories”

Some positive politeness strategies are also included in the article. We can find the

recognition of other researchers’ values or partial assumption of their work as in the

sentence “ Hansen et all state that this energy imbalance is 0.85± 0.15 Megawatts per

square kilometre. This is not just a theory- it is an observable fact, just like

earthquakes”.

4. ANALYSIS TEXT 3: PATIENT INFORMATION LEAFLET


We can see that this text is mainly written using general English, in order to

make it understandable by everybody, not just people from a medical background.

Though, it contains some technical terms such as bronchodilators, salbutamol, asthma,

angina,...

There is a tendency for short sentences, but the syntactical structures used in the

patient information leaflet are mainly conditional sentences (first type ), with the aim of

providing the reader a list of possible situations and what s/he has to do when that

happens.

“If any of the side effects gets serious, or i f you notice any side effects not listed

in this leaflet, please tell your doctor, nurse or pharmacist”

“Tell your doctor if your medicine does not seem to be working as well as

usual”

As it happened with scientific texts, the passive voice is used quite frequently in

this type of texts, mainly to emphasize about the usage of the medicine:

“This medicine has been prescribed for you”


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“Ventolin Evohaler is used to treat breathing problems in people with asthma

and similar conditions”

The modal verb “may” is widely used in order to express a hypothetical

situation: may need, may harm, may taste, may have told,...

As the leaflet contains instructions about how to use the medicament, we find a

great amount of imperatives: Stand, Remove, Check, Shake, Hold,...

In relation with the word formation processes we can find some examples of

compounding (airways, micrograms, headache, mouthpiece, heartbeat ...).

4.2. Genre analysis

Patient information leaflets that accompany medication provide important

information about side-effect, correct dosage and what drug combinations to avoid.

Because of that, this information must be accessible and understandable by those who

receive it.

4.2.1. Conventions of genre

4.2.1.1. Primary structure: this refers to the main sections in a

patient information leaflet.

Description

Clinical Pharmacology

Indications and usage

Contraindications

Warnings

Precautions

Adverse reactions

Overdosage

Dosage and Administration

How supplied

Recommended storage

Marketing authorization holder and manufacturer

4.2.1.2. Secondary structure: the moves that we find in the patient

information leaflet and their function is as follows:


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Moves Communicative function

Description Describing the medicament and come of

its components, presenting its structure

and chemical denomination

Clinical Pharmacology Informing about how does the

medicament work and the results after

different clinical studies carried out.

Indications and Usage Giving information about the illnesses that

can be cured with the medicament

Contraindications, Warnings, Precautions Warning about the risks that

Adverse Reactions Warning about the side effects that may

appear

Overdosage Recommending a treatment in case of

intoxication

Dosage and Administration Indicating how to take the medicamentHow supplied Informing about how the medicament is

supplied (pills, mixture,)

4.2.2. Characteristics of the Patient Information Leaflet genre

4.2.2.1. Writing style

Use of simple words: It is possible that many people trying to read

the leaflet may be have poor reading skills. Because of that, they

have to include simple words and avoid technical ones. In the textwe can find some examples: heart problems instead of “cardiac

problems”, heartbeat instead of “tachycardia” and mouth and throat

irritation instead of “buccopharingeal”.

Use of short sentences: Sentences should not be more than about 20

words. It is better to use a couple of sentences rather than one

longer sentence. For example, in the text we can see “This excludes

relieving and preventing asthma brought on by exercise or other

triggers. These are things which bring on asthma symptoms in some

people. Common triggers include house dust, pollen, cats, dogs and

cigarette smoking ” instead of “This includes relieving and

preventing asthma brought on by exercise or other asthma

symptoms in some people, such as house dust, pollen, cats, dogs

and cigarette smoking”

Avoidance of long paragraphs: Long paragraphs can confuse

readers. Because of that, it is better to include bullet points as they


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Text 1: Complaint Letter


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Text 2: Scientific article 1


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Text 2: Scientific article 2


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Text 3: Patient Information Leaflet 1


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Text 3: Patient Information Leaflet 2


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ingles para fines especificos essay esp

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