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
3.2.2. Communicative politeness
4. Analysis text 3: Patient information leaflet 8
4.1. Register analysis
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
2.1. Register analysis
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
3.1. Register analysis
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.
3.2.2. Communicative politeness
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
4.1. Register analysis
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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