Obama Inaugural Address - 2009 (Written Transcript)

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1872715,00.html

On the 20th of January, 2009, citizens gathered at the capitol building for the inaugural ceremony where Barack Obama addressed them all. The purpose of this piece is to inform the people of America that their nation has the power to expand and become greater. The function of this oiece is informative as well as persuasive. It is of a consultative register as Obama attempts to persuade his nation. 

The lexical choice in Barrack Obama's inaugural address contributes to the level of formality through the persuasion of the American public and the careful planning used to back up his purpose with evidence; "These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics". This means that Obama is speaking the truth about what his intentions are and supporting them with statistical evidence. Repetition is also present around words such as "on this day", "generation", "all", "god bless" and "we". This contributes to the level of formality through emphasising the purpose about why he should be president. 

The syntactic structure of this piece contributes to the persuasion of the audience. Obama tends to use a lot of simple sentences to not bore the audience with a complex unnecessary utterance. He also uses many declarative sentence types; for example when making a statement about George Bush, "I thank George Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout his transition. 

The discourse of this piece uses both cohesion and coherence to help the flow and structure. Obama beings the flow with history, present and future of America, following with the history of the nation and moving on to the present that America is facing extreme crisis; "Our economy is badly weakened". This causes the audience to realise how major the crisis of the American economy has become. The following paragraphs discuss the future through statistical data; "Today I say to you the challenges we face are real". The coherence in this piece is identified through implicature where language is indirect and what is meant is not exactly what is read; for example "We remain a young nation, but in the words of scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things". This achieves formality through the reader once inferring what is meant, realises the importance and is persuaded. 

Making use of lexical choice, syntactic structure and the flow of discourse, cohesion and coherence, a formal piece is created to inform and persuade the nation of America of the importance of the economic crisis that is being faced.

TS Eliot - The Wasteland

http://unit3englishlanguageaos2.wikispaces.com/file/detail/The+Waste+Land+What+the+Thunder+said.docx

The wasteland poem which is written by TS Eliot and is a formal written poem, with the purpose of informing the audience of shifts between satire and prophecy. The function of this poem is informative, the register in this poem is consultative due to the way the poem uses words such as "mud-cracked", readers will be attracted to this unique and different poem.

The lexical choice contributes to the level of formality in the text. In the poem there is a lot of repetition of verbs, there are examples of this is the first three lines following the opening of the word "the". An oxymoron is also taking place in the first few lines of the poem, "living is now dead". Onomatopoeia is present in the final paragraph of the first page, "drip drop drip drop". All of these factors contribute to the formality of this piece because they display clear English and standard English without any slang. There are high amounts of lexical repetition with lots of words such as "the", "and", "water", "rock", "a", "stop", "no", "of". This shows the text has a high amount of lexical repetition.

The context of the text contributes to the level of formality. The domain of the text is religion and education. The topic that is being discussed is people suffering. The audience would be any middle aged person who has an interest in reading poems or it could be VCE or University students because this is a famous poem studied many times. The context contributes to the poem's formality through the absence of slang. 

In terms of syntactic structure, parallelism is present in the text; "Stand nor lie nor sit", which occurs half way down the first page. As well as "Gliding wrapt in a brown mantle, hooded." The poem is dominated with a simple sentence structure as well as a few declaratives as they are single clause statements such as "A spring." 

TS Eliot combines the use of lexical choice, context and syntactic structure to create a cohesive and formal piece of poetry. 

John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address

http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres56.html

On the 20th of January, 1961 an inaugural ceremony was held in Washington D.C where John F. Kennedy addressed America explaining what he will do in role of president. . Through use of semantics and lexical choice, Kennedy delivers his intentions for the duration of his running as leader. 

Kennedy uses a metaphor to emphasise his opinion by stating “But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom, and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.”. This causes the audience to infer that they are not so obliged to follow but rather to support and fight for their own. Another metaphor is seen when Kennedy discusses  rising for power when it is needed most. He states that “The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavour will light our country and all who serve it.” implying that the country must work together to be successful. He follows this with the metaphor “The glow from that fire (The fire meaning the country's support) showing how great an effect the audience have on him. This achieves formality through making the audience have a clearer idea of their president and what his intentions are, persuading them to take his side.

Kennedy constant repetition of words throughout his speech when discussing pledges, which includes “the survival and success of liberty.”, the pledge of “loyalty to faithful friends.”, the pledge of “struggling to break the bonds of mass misery” and pledge to “convert our good words into good deeds.”. The repetition of the word “pledge” grabs the audience mind of its importance. 
Repetition is seen again when Kennedy discusses 'both sides', “Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belabouring those problems which divide us.”, “Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors" and "Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah - to 'undo the heavy burdens ... and to let the oppressed go free.". Kennedy utilises repetition to emphasise his point and bring focus to the importance of making peace.

The use of semantics together with the use of lexical choice combine to form a cohesive text by allowing for Kennedy to explain his 'future' actions as president. 

Glossary of Terms

Cohesion: A relationship between sentences or parts of a piece of writing that is shown by 

particular words or phrases ‘The glue that holds a piece together’

Coherence: The logical and natural consistency in a piece that brings meaning

Clause: A group of words that includes a verb and a subject and is a sentence or a main part of a sentence.

Ellipsis: The process of leaving a word, or words, out of a sentence when they are not necessary for understanding it.

Verb: A type of word or phrase that shows an action, e.g. “run”.

Noun: A word or a group of words referring to a person thing or place.

Adjective: A word used for describing a noun or pronoun.

Pronoun: A word used instead of a noun for referring to a person thing or place mentioned earlier such as ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘that’ and ‘they’.

Slang: Words or expressions that are very informal and are not considered suitable for more formal situations.

Jargon: Special words and phrases that are only understood by people who do the same kind of work.

Intonation: The sound pattern of phrases and sentences produced by pitch variation in the voice.

Assimilation: The processing changing a consonant into another under the influence of one adjacent to it.

Consonant: A speech sound or letter of the alphabet other than a vowel; a stop, fricative, or continuant.

Semantics: The study of meaning.

Metaphor: A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action that it does not literally denote in order to imply a resemblance.

Alliteration: The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of nearby words. E.g. “Fame and fortune”

Affixes: Morphemes that can be added to a root or stem to form a more complex word (Suffixes follow the root; e.g –ed, -es, -ing and Prefixes preced the root; e,g in-, non-, un-)

Conjunction: Joining words

Connotations: The emotional associations that a word may carry, these arise from experiences.

Deictic Expressions: Pointing words such as here and these.

Domain: A sphere of activity, concern, interest or field.

Euphemism: Avoidance language to provide a verbal escape for speaking confronting taboo.

Acronyms: Words formed from the initials of other words, e.g. QANTAS, SCUBA, ANZAC

Hyperbole: Exaggeration

Pun: A type of word play that uses the different meanings of a word.

Syntax: Study of sentence structure.

Paralinguistics: Features such as gesture and eye contact.

Prosodics: Features such as pitch, intonation, stress, tempo and volume.
Assonance: The repetition of identical or similar stressed vowel sounds for a special effect. 
Collocation: The tendency for some words to combine with each other. 
Implicature: What is suggested in an utterance.
Inference: The act of deriving logical conclusions from knowledge assu

Lewis Carroll - How Doth The Little Crocodile Poem

How Doth The Little Crocodile
Lewis Carroll

How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!

How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spread his claws,
And welcome little fishes in
With gently smiling jaws!

How doth the little crocodile is a poem describing a crafty crocodile which lures fish into its mouth with a welcoming smile. The author expresses himself through the use of stylistic features, phonetics and syntactic structure to create a formal poem.

Stylistic features such as affixation are present in the poem, focusing on suffixation such as 'waters' (-s being the morpheme) and smiling (-ing being the morpheme), this impacts on formality through creating more complex words using derivational affixes. 

Phonetic features are used in this poem such as assonance, (a special effect involving the repetition of sounds - the same or similar vowel sounds). This is shown in lines 5 & 6: "How cheerfully he seems to grin" and "How neatly spread his claws", This acts as an inner rhyme, supporting the poem's rhythm. Another feature of the poem is rhythm, found in lines 3 & 4: "And pour the waters of the Nile on every golden scale!". This shows the regular recurrence of repeated stresses followed by unstressed syllables creating a lively rhythm. Rhyme is found in the text as it is a common feature of poetry and involves the recurrent use of syllables of similar sounds at the end of poetic lines;

“How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!

How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spread his claws,
And welcome little fishes in
With gently smiling jaws!”  

The rhyme pattern uses the word at the end of a line to rhyme with the following second line, contributing to the cohesion of the text. 

Syntactic structure such as simple sentences are used to create the poem, for example: "How doth the little crocodile improve his shining tail" [subject verb object], this is a simple sentence as it only contains a single clause. Interrogative sentence types are shown in the poem;      "How doth the little crocodile

improve his shining tail?". How being the interrogative verb posing the question. However the poem is dominated by declarative sentence types simple making a statement such as "How neatly spread his claws". This adds to the formality of the poem through variation in sentence type and structure. 

A cohesive piece of formal poetry is created by Lewis Carroll through the use of distinct syntactic patterning, stylistic features as well as a variety of phonetic features affecting the sound of the poem. 

House For Sale Ad

http://www.domain.com.au/Property/For-Sale/Apartment-Unit-Flat/VIC/Geelong/?adid=2009777579

The function of this advertisement is to persuade house buyers to consider and purchasing this apartment as a home. The audience targeted would be families who would have a higher income than an average family as it is of a higher ‘quality’ with ‘superior finishes’ and far too spacious to suit a single person, (‘extensive indoor and outdoor living’,'dining room is spacious’,’ the main bedroom is superb and very large’ and ‘plenty of storage’). The information is formally conveyed through the use of syntactical features, lexical choice and cohesion. 

The lexical choice of this advertisement belong to the domain of sales and field of real estate. Whitford has made use of a variety of real estate jargon such as ‘superb bay views’, ‘indoor and outdoor living’, ‘bedrooms', 'kitchen, 'terrace' and 'ceiling'. A selection of synonyms are also used to describe the property such as 'superb', 'quality', 'superior' and 'amazing' as well as collocations (a combination of morphemes that 'naturally' fit together) such as 'dining room', 'double garage' and 'stainless steel'. These are both factors contributing to the cohesion of the text. 

Syntactical structure present here includes simple sentences which are combined with the use of the conjunctions ‘and’ and ‘or’. Sentences do not show complexity in sentence structure and are mainly declarative by informing the audience with general statements of the house. 

The speech brings together lexical choice, cohesion and syntax to create a formal register in order to create the purpose of a persuasive piece to persuade buyers. 

Kevin Rudd - Apology to the Stolen Generation

Kevin Rudd addresses the stolen generation to make an apology from Parliament House, Canberra, on the 12th of February 2008. His aim was to apologise to the indigenous peoples of Australia. Using prosodic features and lexical choice, Rudd informs the audience of plans to put in place to equalise the differences between non indigenous and indigenous, in doing so forming a formal, cohesive speech.

Rudd uses prosodic features such as emphatic stress, when he is speaking about the future of Australians, “A future where we can harness the determination of all Australians, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.”, emphasising the “all” so that the indigenous feel equal to all. Rudd also constantly uses repetition when addressing apologies, “We apologise for the laws of successive parliaments and governments that have inflicted grief, suffering or loss on these our fellow Australians, we apologise for the removal of aboriginal and Torres straight islander children from their families, communities and country and we apologise for the pain, suffering and hurt of these stolen generations.”  This repetition of “We apologise for,” forces the apology into the audience's mind, persuading them to take it in thus contributing to formality. 

Rudd's lexical choice gives the audience the idea that he understands what he is apologising for and that it is a serious matter, “The pain, suffering and hurt of these stolen generations.”. Using these adjectives, he shows his true intentions and emphasises the severity of the situation that is being addressed. 

The use of prosodic features as well as lexical choice allows Rudd to get his apology across as  meaningfully as possible to create a formal and cohesive speech. 

Barack Obama - 2013 Inauguration Speech

This speech delivered by Barack Obama at the United States Capitol on the 21st of January 2013 was aimed to inaugurate him as president and recall America's allegiance to to an idea articulated in a declaration made more than 200 years ago; “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” 
The formality of this speech is achieved through distinct syntactical devices and lexical choice. 

The context of this piece contributes to its formality, the domain being politics in the field of an inauguration, impacting on formality through the use of political jargon, (Obama makes use of words such as 'President', 'Vice President', 'Congress', 'Citizens', 'Constitutions', 'Declaration', 'Government' and 'Rights'). The audience is focused on the citizens of the United States of America that are interested in the inauguration of Obama. Its formal register combines with its locale at the United States Capitol building to create a formal one-way communication. 

Obama constantly uses the frequent repetition of inclusive language, including words such as 'Together', 'We', and 'Us' to give the audience a sense of involvement and that their president stands by their side. This adds to the speech's formality through the persuasion of the audience to join Obama's side. 

In terms of syntax, Obama mainly makes use of declarative sentences such as "Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play" and "For now decisions are upon us and we cannot afford delay".

In conclusion, Obama speaks a formal speech through a formal register and context combined with lexical choice and syntactic structure.

Mitt Romney - Concession Speech

In this spoken dialogue, Mitt Romney who just lost the election for the President of the United States of America to Barack Obama, delivers his concession speech from Boston, Massachusetts on the 7th of November, 2012. The level of formality is conveyed through Romney's use of specific syntactic and prosodic features along with his political lexicon. Using these, he thanks all his supporters, congratulates the winner, Obama and expresses his view on America standpoint. 

Throughout Romney's speech he applies turn-taking with the audience, when he finishes a sentence he will wait for cheers and applause before moving on to his next topic. He uses intonation and emphasis when thanking the president and his family as well as his own family, supporters and campaigners to ensure the audience are aware how grateful he is simply for the opportunity of running for president. These prosodic features add to the formality of the speech. 

Romney frequently uses declarative sentences throughout his speech such as "I believe in America". Romney also uses frequent repetition of "thank you" to show the audience how grateful he is as well as the repetition of "we look to our..." to show how much as a nation America depends on each other and how they stand together, contribute to the speech's formal register. 

Mitt Romney has spoken a formal concession speech through the utilisation of prosodics, syntactical features and lexical choice. These features stressed his thanks to his nation and his hope that Obama will succeed in the role of President.

Our Deepest Fear - Coach Carter

In the film 'Coach Carter', Timo Cruz gives a short farewell speech to his basketball coach who is leaving them, Cruz's speech gives prominence to the life lessons he has learned in a short time as well as how life can be changed depending on one's mindset. He explains that what scares you can be the very reason to push and motivate you, that what we fear can not always be a bad thing. Cruz's speech consisting of distinct syntactical structure along with prosodic features are determinants of its formality. 

During the speech, Cruz uses prosodic features such as emphatic stress on pronouns such as 'our', 'we' and 'us' to make all feel involved. This inclusive language makes the speech more powerful in the sense that the audience are more likely to stand behind Cruz, contributing to its formality. 

Cohesion is essential for the speech to connect and come together, a factor of cohesion present is the constant repetition of 'we' and 'our'. This impacts formality through again making the audience feel included and putting the idea in their mind that their mindset is equally affected.

The syntactic structure of this speech frequently repeats declarative sentences alternating between simple sentences such as the opening, "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate." and "Your playing small does not serve the world" to complex sentences toward the ending of the speech, for example "As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." This contributes to formality through variation in sentence structure. 

Phonetic features, variation of sentence structure and cohesion combine to create a one way formal register in an informative piece to inform of fear and motivation. 

Martin Luther King Junior - I have a dream

Martin Luther King Junior addressed all that gathered at Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on the 28th of August, 1963. He expressed his views on civil rights as well as freedom and emphasised his dream of a world free of racism. Luther King explains that racism has gone on unnecessarily for far too long and must meet an end. 

The context of this piece contributes to its formality, the domain being civil rights in the field of racism impacting on formality through the use of political lexical choices and discourse strategies to stress the want of a free world. Martin Luther King Junior's audience are thost of the United States as well as around the world who wish to see racism stopped. Its formal register combined with spoken mode and locale of the Lincoln Memorial are factors which contribute to formality through the speech being of 'one-way' communication.

Shortly after the opening of the speech, Luther King uses a metaphor "This momentous decree came as a great beckoning light of hope" which achieves formality through its description and comparison of the subject. This gives the audience an image associated with words resulting in the audience understanding his view of freedom. 

Cohesion is what brings the piece together, 'the glue it is constructed on'. Several factors of cohesion have been used in this speech. Repetition being on used many times such as the title 'I have a dream' repeated over and over again to get his point across to the audience's mind. The repetition of 'let freedom ring' as well as 'one hundred years later' makes the audience realise what the speech is fighting for, bring freedom to the seemingly endless racism that has gone on. This adds to the formality through repeating the idea and forcing it to the audience showing careful planning in the speech. 

The syntactical structure of this speech differs throughout. Opening with a simple sentence, "I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation." and changing to repeated complex sentences through later paragraphs such as "And the marvelous new militarism which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers have evidenced by their presence here today that they have come to realise that their destiny is part of our destiny." The speech then concludes with another simple sentence, "We are free at last!" 

This contributes to formality, helping the speech end and persuading the audience back to the topic of freedom, formality is achieved here through variation in sentence structure, a key element of formal language. 

This speech uses semantic features, cohesion as well as a variation of syntactic structures to come together and create a formal register in order to create of the purpose of an informative piece to inform of racism and freedom.