HASSAN II UNIVERSITY Modular Program: English Studies

FACULTY OF LETTERS
AND HUMAN SCIENCES

CASABLANCA

PHONOLOGY
Phonology is the study of how sounds are organized and used in natural languages.

Phonology is the study of the sound patterns found in human language.

Phonology is the knowledge that native speakers have about the sound patterns of their particular
language (mother tongue).

Knowledge of Phonology is part of our acquisition of a particular language. Once we acquire a

language, we acquire its speech sounds as well as the way they are arranged in conformity to certain
phonological rules.

The phonological system of a language includes :

• an inventory of sounds and their features, and

• rules which specify how sounds interact with each other.

It has traditionally focused largely on study of the systems of phonemes in particular languages and
therefore used to be also called phonemics, or phonematics.

The word phonology (as in the phonology of English) can also refer to the phonological system (sound
system) of a given language. This is one of the fundamental systems which a language is considered to
comprise, like its syntax and its vocabulary.

Phonology is just one of several aspects of language. It is related to other aspects such as phonetics,
morphology, syntax, and pragmatics.

Here is an illustration that shows the place of phonology in an interacting hierarchy of levels in
linguistics:

Comparison: Phonology and phonetics

Phonology is often distinguished from phonetics. While phonetics concerns the physical production,
acoustic transmission and perception of the sounds of speech, phonology describes the way sounds
function within a given language or across languages to encode meaning. For many linguists,
phonetics belongs to descriptive linguistics , and phonology to theoretical linguistics.

Phonetics is the basis for phonological analysis while Phonology Is the basis for further work in
morphology, syntax, discourse, and orthography design.

Phonology is particular in that it uses the tools of Phonetics to describe the sound system of a
particular language and how it forms a systematic pattern.

Phonetics is more general in that it studies the speech sounds of all human languages and provides
necessary tools for describing and classifying speech sounds.

Phonetics analyzes the production of all human speech sounds, regardless of language while
Phonology analyzes the sound patterns of a particular language by

• determining which phonetic sounds are significant, and

• explaining how these sounds are interpreted by the native speaker.

1. Phonemes and allophones

Let us focus on phonemic distinction and phonetic difference.

Phonemes are speech sounds that are distinctive (distinctive speech sounds) in all languages. They are
limited and finite in number. Some speakers share the same phonemic inventory. In our acquisition,
we internalize the whole repertoire that characterizes our language.

Phonemes are distinctive because they are able to distinguish between words in terms of meaning.

Consider the following minimal pairs :

pill till kill

bill dill gill

Each word differs from the others in both form and meaning. The forms are identical except for the
initial consonants.

Therefore, these sounds are assigned to different phonemes. A phoneme is then the minimal unit of
sound capable of making a meaning difference.

These consonants are able to distinguish or contrast words.

➔ They are then distinctive sounds in English.

➔ Such distinctive sounds are called phonemes.

Minimal pairs are words which differ only by one sound occurring in the same position
(initial/middle/or final). They are important in that they are used to explain and find out phonemes of a
language and to shed light on their distinctiveness. Whenever we can establish a minimal pair, the two
different sounds are two different phonemes.
Even if we did not know the phonetic properties for / p, b, t, d, k, g/, we would know they are
phonemes in English.

Phonetics provides the meaans to describe the sounds, to show how they differ ; phonology tells us
that they function as phonemes and are able to contrast meanings of words.

Free variation vs minimal pairs

economics : /ɪkənɒmɪks/ / ekənɒmɪks/

ration : /ræʃən/ /reɪʃən/

The following minimal pairs illustrate some of the distinctive features in the phonological system of English :

bat : /bæt/ [-nasal] ; mat : / mæt/ [+nasal]

→Thus nasality [+/-nasal] is a distinctive feature of English consonants.

rack : /ræk/ ; rock : /rɒk/. /æ/ and /ɒ/ are both low unrounded vowels, but /æ/ is a front
vowel and /ɒ/ is a back vowel.

→[+/-back] is therefore a distinctive feature of English vowels.

see : /si:/ ; zee /zi:/. /s/and /z/are identical in all respects except for voicing.

→Therefore, voicing [+/-voiced] is a distictive feature of English consonants.

bean : /bi:n/ ; bead /bi:d/ ; roam : /rəʊm/ ; robe : /rəʊb/

Nasalized vowels can occur in English only before nasal consonants.

bee : /bi:/ ; bead /bi:d/ ; bean /bi:n/

lay : /leɪ/ ; lace : /leɪs/ ; lame : /leɪm/

baa : /bæ/ ; bat : /bæt/ ; bang : /bæŋ/

→Oral vowels in final position and before nonnasal consonants ; nasalized vowels only before nasal
consonants.

A phonetic unit or segment is called a phone. A phoneme is a more abstract unit.

A single phoneme may be phonetically realized or pronounced as two or more phones. The different
phones are called allophones of that phoneme.

→Thus, in English, each vowel phoneme has both an oral and a nasalized allophone. Nasality [+/-
nasal] is not a distinctive feature of English vowels.
When two or more allophones of one phoneme never occur in the same phonemic context or
environment, they are said to be in complementary distribution.

Nasality is a predictable or redundant feature for vowels in English (but not for consonants).

pill : /pɪl/ ; till : /tɪl/ ; kill : /kɪl/

spill : /spɪl/ ; still : /stɪl/ ; skill : /skɪl/

Despite the phonetic diference between the aspirated and unaspirated phones, speakers of English
consider the /p/ in (pill) and (spill) to be the same sound. This is because the difference between them
is predictable, redundant, nondistinctive, nonphonemic. The aspirated and unaspirated phones are
in complementary distribution.

Phonemic distinctiveness and phonetic difference is well illustrated by aspiration.

There are two /p/ sounds (phones), but only one /p/ phoneme. The same is true for /t/ and /k/.

→Thus, aspiration is not a distinctive feature of English consonants.

The phonemes, then, are not the actual phonetic sounds, but are abstract mental constructs which are
realized as sounds by the operation of phonological rules.

Such rules show that the phonemic shape of words or phrases is not identical with their phonetic
form.

One’s knowledge of the phonological system of our language includes the phonotactics of the
language, as well, i.e. which phonemes can begin a word, end a word, and follow each other.

Certain strings of phonemes are permissible others are not.

Let’s imagine we have the following four phonemes : /k, b, l, ɪ/→blik, bilk, klib, kilb.

*lbki, *ilbk, *bkil, *ilkb.

I have just bought a beautiful new blick. → What’s a blick ?

I have just bought a beautiful new bkli. → What ?

2. Distinctive Features
So far we have classified consonants according to their place and manner of articulation, but in the
formalization of phonological rules, we need other features in order to group these consonants into
larger classes and make the rules more general.

2.1 Major Class Features: SYLLABIC/ SONORANT/CONSONANTAL

The feature [𝒔𝒚𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒄] characterizes the role a segment plays in the structure of the syllable. In
general, vowels are ⌈+𝑠𝑦𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑐⌉, whereas consonants are ⌊−syllabic⌋
The feature [sonorant] refers to the resonant quality of a sound. Vowels are always ⌈+𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡⌉, as
are nasals and liquids and semivowels. Oral stops, fricatives and affricates are ⌈−𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡⌉.

The feature ⌈𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍⌉ refers to a narrowed constriction in the oral cavity, either total occlusion
or friction. Stops, fricatives, affricates, nasals and liquids are ⌈+𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙⌉ . Vowels and
semivowels are ⌈−𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 ⌉.

2.2 Manner Features: CONTINUANT/ DELAYED –RELEASE/ STRIDENT/ LATERAL

The features [sonorant ] and ⌈𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍⌉ will distinguish obstruents from sonorants and glides
from other consonants. Among obstruents, we still need to distinguish stops, fricatives, and affricates.
Among sonorants, we have to distinguish nasals from liquids and glides. In liquids, we have to
differentiate between laterals and non laterals.

Among the obstruents are those with continuous friction throughout ⌈+𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒂𝒏𝒕⌉ i.e. the
fricatives, and those beginning with a total occlusion ⌈−𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒂𝒏𝒕⌉, the stops and affricates.

Although stops and affricates both begin with total occlusion, they are released differently. Affricates
have a delayed release [+delayed-release]; stops are released instantaneously [–delayed-release].

We must also distinguish among the fricatives themselves. For all fricatives the air is forced through a
narrow opening, but in the case of the strident ones, it is directed against the upper teeth or the uvula
and, therefore, they are more audible and hence perceptually “noisier” than others. Thus,
⌈+𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕⌉ refers to all affricates /ts, dz, tʃ, dʒ/ and the noisy fricatives: labio-dentals /f, v/,
alveolars /s, z/, palato-alveolars /ʃ, ʒ/ and the uvular /ʀ/ due to the outgoing of the air hitting the teeth
or the uvula. The stops /p, b, t, d, k, g, ʔ/, the liquids /l, r/, the glides /w, j/ and the les noisy fricatives:
the labio-dentals /β φ/, the interdentals /θ, ð/ and velars /x, ɣ/ are [-strident].

The features [nasal] and [lateral] differentiate various sonorant consonants. Nasals are [+nasal] and
liquids are [-nasal]. Among liquids, lateral /l/ is opposed to non lateral /r/ as [+lateral] to [-lateral].

The features [consonantal], [nasal], and [lateral] define the different types of sonorant consonants as
shown below:

/w, j/ /m, n, ŋ/ /l/ /r/

Sonorant + + + +
Consonantal - + + +
Nasal - + - -
Lateral - - + -

2.3 Place Features: ANTERIOR/ CORONAL

Chomsky and Halle classify the four principal places for consonant articulation --labial, dental, palato-
alveolar, and velar-- according to whether the constriction is at the extreme front region of the oral
cavity (the anterior consonants) or more retracted (the nonanteriors).

Therefore, the labials, the alveolars and the interdentals are articulated at the front part of the mouth;
they are [+anterior]. The palato-alveolars, the palatals, the velars, the glottals and the pharyngeals are
[-anterior].
Coronal sounds are produced in the area bounded by the teeth and hard palate. [+/-coronal]
distinguishes sounds which involve the front of the tongue from others.

[+coronal] sounds are articulated with the tongue tip or the blade raised: /j, l, r, n, t, d, s, z, θ, ð, ʃ, ʒ,
tʃ, dʒ/.

[-coronal] sounds don’t involve the front of the tongue: /w, m, k, ŋ, g, h, f, v, p, b/.

[+anterior] sounds are produced no further back in the oral tract than the alveolar ridge. The feature
distinguishes between sounds produced in the front of the mouth (labials, dentals and alveolars) and other
sounds.

[+anterior] sounds are produced at or in front of the alveolar ridge: /l, r, m, n, t, d, θ, ð, s, z, f, v, p, b/

[-anterior] sounds : /w, j, k, g, ŋ, h, ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ/.

→To summarize then:

Labials are then [-coronal] [+anterior]: /p, b, f, v, m/.

Interdentals and alveolars are [+coronal] [+anterior]: /t, d, s, z, n, l, r, θ, ð/.

Palato-alveolars and palatals are [+coronal] [-anterior]: /j, ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ/.

Velars, glottal, pharyngeals and uvulars are [-coronal] [-anterior]: /w, h, k, g, ŋ, ʔ/.
HASSAN II UNIVERSITY Modular Program: English Studies
FACULTY OF LETTERS
AND HUMAN SCIENCES

CASABLANCA

MORPHOLOGY

The term « Morphology » is used not only in linguistics but also in biology as the scientific study of
forms and structure of animals and plants, and in geology as the study of formation and evolution of
rocks and land forms.

We are going to stick to morphology in linguistics, as the scientific study of forms and structure of
words in a language. Morphology as a sub-discipline of linguistics aimed at studying the form of
words. Today morphology forms a core part of linguistics.

Morphology is the study of the internal structure of words, and the rules by which words are formed.

Just as knowledge of language implies knowledge of the phonology, it also implies the knowledge of
the morphology

The purposes of studying morphology

The internal structure of words and the segmentation into different kinds of morphemes is essential to
the two basic purposes of morphology: 1. the creation of new words and 2. the modification of
existing words. Think about it, we create new words out of old ones all the time.

What is a word?

If morphology is the study of the internal structure of words, we need to define the word word before
we can continue. That might sound easy - surely we all know what a word is.

In texts they are particularly easy to spot since they are divided by white spaces. But how do we
identify words in speech? A reliable definition of words is that they are the smallest independent
units of language. They are independent in that they do not depend on other words, which means that
they can be separated from other units and can change position. Consider the sentence:

The girl looked at the cats.

The plural ending –s in cats is dependent on the noun cat to receive meaning and can therefore not be
a word. Cats, however, is a word, as it can occur in other positions in the sentence or stand on its own:

The cats looked at the girl.

- What is the girl looking at? - Cats.

Words are thus both independent since they can be separated from other words and move around in
sentences, and the smallest units of language since they are the only units of language for which this
is possible.

A word is both a sound and its meaning ; these are the inseparable parts of the linguistic sign.

Each word is stored in our mental dictionaries with its phonological representation, its meaning
(semantic propertties), and its syntactic class, or category, specification.

In English, nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs make up the largest part of the vocabulary. They are
‘open classes’. We can and regularly do add new words to these classes.

The other syntactic categories : articles, conjunctions, prepositions and pronouns are ‘closed sets’.

A morpheme is the most elemental unit of grammatical form. It is the minimal meaning-bearing unit
of language.

A single word may be composed of one or more morphemes :

1 morpheme : boy, desire

2 morphemes : boyi-sh, desir-able

3 morphemes : boy-ish-ness, desir-abil-ity

4 morphemes : gentle-man-li-ness, un-desir-abil-ity

5 morphemes : un-gentle-man-li-ness, de-nation-al-iz-ation

7/8 morphemes : anti-dis-establish-ment-ari-an-ism-s

Some morphemes (boy, desire, gentle, man) can constitute words by themselves → free morphemes.

Other morphemes (-ish, -able, un-, -ness, -li) are never words but always parts of words. These
prefixes and suffixes are bound morphemes.

Consider : *uglification ----------- beautify

The reason morphemes can be combined in different ways is that there are morphological rules.
They determine how morphemes can combine to form new words.

Morphemes can be derivational or inflectional.

Some derivational morphemes change the grammatical class or category of words :

Verb+able→adjective : desirable, adorable

Noun+suffix→adjectives : boyish, virtuous, Elizabethan, picturesque, alcoholic, affectionate, beautiful

Verb+suffix→noun : acquittal clearance, accusation, conference, singer, conformist

Adjective+suffix→adverb : exactly, quietly

Noun+suffix→verb : beautify, moralize, vaccinate, brandish.

Other derivational morphemes do not cause a change in grammatical class. Many prefixes fall into this
category : amoral, autobiography, exwife, monotheism, reprint, semiannual, subanimal.

There are also suffixes : vicarage, Trotskyite, American, musician.

Some ‘bound’ morphemes are purel grammatical markers representing such concepts as tense,
gender, number, case.

Such ‘bound’ grammatical morphemes are called inflectional morphemes. They never change the
syntactic category of the words or morphemes to which they are attached to complete words.

He sails the ocean → subject is singular, 3rd person ; verb is present tense

He sailed the ocean → ver bis past (tense)

He is sailing the ocean → verb is progressive (aspect)

He has sailed the oceans → noun is plural (number)

The heiress bought the mansion → noun is feminine (gender)

Derivational morphological rules are lexical rules. Inflectional morphemes are determined by the rules
of syntax

Some grammatical relations can be expressed either inflectionally (morphologically) or syntactically.

The boy’s book is blue → The book of the boy is blue.

He loves books → He is a lover of books.

The planes which fly are red → The flying planes are red.

He is beastlier than her → He is more beastly than her.

Some morphemes have different phonetic forms. When a morpheme has alternate phonetic forms,
these are caalled allomorphs, e.g. a/an.
The rule that determines the phonetic form the morpheme is called a morphophonemic rule. Its
application is determined by both morphology and phonology..

The past –ed is realized as /t/, /d/ or / əd/.

The plural-s isrealized as /s/, /z/ or / əz/.

Some morphemes have a zero-form :

Yesterday John hit the roof. → hit

The sheep are in the meadow. → sheep

There are many morphemes with the same meaning due to different phonemic forms like in-, un- and
not.

There are also different morphemes with the same phonological form but different meanings :

→singer, painter, lover, worker.

→nicer, prettier, taller, louder.

→ butcher, water. These are single morphemes or monomorphemic words

Grammars also include morphological compounding rules. These rules account for the combination
of two or more ‘free’ morphemes or words to form complex compounds like ‘deep-sea
diver’, ‘ne’er-do-well’

Frequently the meaning of compounds cannot be predicted from the meanings of their individual
morphemes or words. Therefore, many compounds must be included in our internalized
dictionaries, each with its phonological form and meaning.

While the particular morphemes and the particular morphological rules are language-dependent, the
same general processes occur in all languages.

Many English words are formed by taking basic words and adding combinations of prefixes and
suffixes to them. A basic word to which affixes (prefixes and suffixes) are added is called a root
word because it forms the basis of a new word. The root word is also a word in its own right. For
example, the word lovely consists of the word love and the suffix -ly.

In contrast, a root is the basis of a new word, but it does not typically form a stand-alone word on its
own. For example, the word reject is made up of the prefix re- and the Latin root ject, which is not a
stand-alone word.
Key Terms

affix: a morpheme that is attached to something else to modify its meaning, e.g. un- in unhappy

bound morpheme: a morpheme that cannot stand on its own but must be attached to another word,
e.g. -er, plural -s

circumfix: a morpheme consisting of two parts, one that is attached to the front and one to the back of
a word

complex word: a word consisting of two or more morphemes, e.g. work-er

free morpheme: a morpheme that can stand on its own, e.g. house

infix: an affix that is inserted into a word

morpheme: the smallest meaning-bearing unit of language

morphology: the study of the internal structure of words

prefix: an affix that is attached to the front of a word, e.g. pro- in proactive

root: a base to which bound morphemes can be attached

simple word: a word consisting of only one morpheme, e.g. work

suffix: an affix that is attached to the end of a word, e.g. plural -s on nouns

word: the smallest independent units of language

HASSAN II UNIVERSITY Modular Program: English Studies
FACULTY OF LETTERS
AND HUMAN SCIENCES

CASABLANCA

SYNTAX

1- Definition of Syntax
Syntax is the study of the rules governing the way words are combined to form sentences in a
language. In this use, syntax is opposed to Morphology, the study of word structure.

Syntax is the study of interrelationships between elements of sentence structures, and the rules
governing the arrangement of these elements in sequence.

Syntax is the study of the structure of sentences and the grammatical rules governing the way
words are combined to form sentences.

Syntax is the study of the part of the human linguistic system that determines how sentences are
put together out of words.

Syntactic rules in a grammar account for the grammaticality of sentences, and the ordering of
words and morphemes.

Syntax is also concerned with speakers' ability to produce and understand an infinite set of
possible sentences.

The sentence is the highest-ranking unit of grammar.

2- Sentence Structure
Sentences are made up of smaller phrases. One aspect of the syntactic structure of sentences is the
division of a sentence into phrases, and those phrases into further phrases, and so forth.

There are several different types of phrases that can be used in a sentence. The two phrases which
must be used in a sentence for it to make sense are a noun phrase and a verb phrase.

The child found the puppy

NP (the child) + VP (found the puppy) → VP = V (found) + NP (the puppy)

Another aspect of the syntactic structure of a sentence is "movement" relations that hold between
one syntactic position in a sentence and another.

The puppy found the child

 3- Different Approaches to Syntax

Knowledge of sentence structure is the object of study of all schools of grammar. One school of
grammar is comparatively more successful in dealing with certain aspects of syntax than others.

Among all grammars, three appear to be well recognized, namely, traditional grammar,
structural Grammar and transformational generative grammar.

a- Sentence structure and Traditional Grammar:

Traditional grammar was initially based on European languages, particularly on Latin and
Greek. It is the most widespread and elaborate grammar and is widely used in language teaching,
thus termed pedagogic grammar.

In analyzing sentences, the method adopted is called parsing. This generally involves five aspects:
(1) identifying elements of the sentence, labeling the parts as subject, predicate, object, attribute,
adverbial, etc.; (2) identifying part of speech of each word; (3) pointing out the inflection of the
words; (4) describing the relationship between the words; (5) generalizing the order of words.

Fundamentally, this approach to the analysis of sentence structure is notional in nature. It

classifies words and parts of sentences mainly according to meaning.

While traditional grammar is well established and some terms are still used now (subject,
predicate clause, etc), its weaknesses are pinpointed by modern linguists.

Firstly, it is prescriptive in nature, attempting to lay down rules for speakers of a language.

Secondly, its grammatical categories are merely based on European languages and are found
inadequate in describing other languages.

Thirdly, it lacks a theoretical framework and thus fails to account for the nature of language.

b- Sentence structure and Structural Grammar

Structural grammar arose out of an attempt to deviate from traditional grammar. In the early
years of the twentieth century, American anthropologists and linguists began to describe American
Indian languages, as many of these tribal languages were dying.

They tried to innovate ways of analysis, because they found some traditional grammatical
categories based on European languages unfeasible in describing those native languages of America.
Among their innovations, two concepts are influential in linguistic studies.

One is the idea of form class, which is a wider concept than part of speech. Linguistic units which
can appear in the same slot are said to be in the same form class. For example, a(n), the, my, that,
every, etc, can be placed before nouns in English sentences. These words fall into one form class. To
put it technically, these linguistic units are observed to have the same distribution. This formal
approach to syntactic categories is more practicable in observing and analyzing unknown languages.

The other important concept of structural grammar is the concept of immediate constituent.
Unlike traditional grammar, which adopts a synthetic (bottom-up) approach to syntax, structural
grammar is characterized by a top-down process of analysis.
 A sentence is seen as a constituent structure. All the components of the sentence are its
constituents. A sentence can be cut into sections. Each section is its immediate constituent. Then each
section can be further cut into constituents. This on-going cutting is termed Immediate Constituent
Analysis.

This way of syntactic analysis adds a new dimension to the analysis of sentence structure. In this
way, sentence structure is analyzed not only horizontally but also vertically. In other words, immediate
constituent analysis can account for the linearity and the hierarchy of sentence structure, and,
therefore, structural ambiguity. Take the sentence I like green grapes and pears, for example. It can be
cut in two ways. In the phrase green grapes and pears, there can be two different sets of immediate
constituents.

The analysis shows clearly that the linear structure is the same but the hierarchical structures are
different. That is why the phrase green grapes and pears can be interpreted in two ways.

c- Sentence structure and Transformational Generative Grammar

The hypothesis of Generative Grammar is that language is a structure of the human mind. The goal
of Generative Grammar is to make a complete model of this inner language.

This model could be used to describe all human languages and to predict the grammaticality of any
given utterance, i.e. to predict whether an utterance would sound correct to native speakers of the
language.

This approach to language was pioneered by Noam Chomsky. Most generative theories assume that
syntax is based upon the constituent structure of sentences.

Generative grammars focus primarily on the form of a sentence rather than its communicative
function.

Among the many ,generative theories of linguistics, the Chomskyan theories are:

- Transformational Grammar (TG). This is the original theory of generative syntax laid out
by Chomsky in Syntactic Structures in 1957.
- Government &Binding (GB). This is the revised theory in the tradition of TG developed
mainly by Chomsky in the 1970’s and 1980’s.
- Minimalist Program (MP). This is a reworking of the theory out of GB framework published
in 1995.
 1

HASSAN II UNIVERSITY Modular Program : English Studies

FACULTY OF LETTERS Semester 4

AND HUMAN SCIENCES Introduction to Linguistics

CASABLANCA Pr. S. FATHI

MOHAMEDIA

Chapter 5 : SYNTAX

In linguistics, "syntax" refers to the rules that govern the ways in which words combine to
form phrases, clauses, and sentences.

The term "syntax" comes from the Greek, meaning "arrange together."

The term is also used to mean the study of the syntactic properties of a language.

In computer contexts, the term refers to the proper ordering of symbols and codes so that the
computer can understand what instructions are telling it to do.

What is Syntax ?

 Syntax is the proper order of words in a phrase or sentence.

 Syntax is a tool used in writing proper grammatical sentences.
 Native speakers of a language learn correct syntax without realizing it.
 The complexity of a writer's or speaker's sentences creates a formal or informal level
of diction that is presented to its audience.

Syntax is one of the major components of grammar.

It's the concept that enables people to know how to start a question with a question word
("What is that?"), or that adjectives generally come before the nouns they describe ("green
chair"), subjects often come before verbs in non-question sentences ("She jogged"),
prepositional phrases start with prepositions ("to the store"), helping verbs come before main
verbs ("can go" or "will do"), and so on.

For native speakers, using correct syntax is something that comes naturally, as word order is
learned as soon as an infant starts absorbing the language.

Native speakers can tell something isn't said quite right because it "sounds weird," even if
they can't detail the exact grammar rule that makes something sound "off" to the ear.

"It is syntax that gives the words the power to relate to each other in a sequence...to carry
meaning—of whatever kind—as well as glow individually in just the right place"
(Burgess 1968)
 2

Syntactic Rules

English parts of speech often follow ordering patterns in sentences and clauses, such as
compound sentences are joined by conjunctions (and, but, or) or that multiple adjectives
modifying the same noun follow a particular order according to their class (such as number-
size-color, as in "six small green chairs").

The rules of how to order words help the language parts make sense.

Sentences often start with a subject, followed by a predicate (or just a verb in the simplest
sentences) and contain an object or a complement (or both), which shows, for example, what's
being acted upon.

Let’s take the sentence,

"Beth slowly ran the race in wild, multicolored flip-flops."

The sentence follows a subject-verb-object pattern ("Beth ran the race"). Adverbs and
adjectives take their places in front of what they're modifying ("slowly ran"; "wild,
multicolored flip-flops"). The object ("the race") follows the verb "ran", and the prepositional
phrase ("in wild, multicolored flip-flops") starts with the preposition "in".

Syntax vs. Diction and Formal vs. Informal

Diction refers to the style of writing or speaking that someone uses, brought about by their
choice of words, whereas syntax is the order in which they are arranged in the spoken or
written sentence.

Something written using a very high level of diction, like a paper published in an academic
journal or a lecture given in a college classroom, is written very formally.

Speaking to friends or texting are informal, meaning they have a low level of diction.

"It is essential to understand that the differences exist not because spoken language is a
degradation of written language but because any written language, whether English or
Chinese, results from centuries of development and elaboration by a small number of users."
(Miller, 2008)

Formal written works or presentations would likely also have more complex sentences or
industry-specific jargon.

They are directed to a more narrow audience than something meant to be read or heard by the
general public, where the audience members' backgrounds will be more diverse.

Precision in word choice is less exacting in informal contexts than formal ones, and grammar
rules are more flexible in spoken language than in formal written language.

Understandable English syntax is more flexible than most.

 3

Types of Sentence Structures

Types of sentences and their syntax modes include simple sentences, compound sentences,
complex sentences, and compound-complex sentences.

Compound sentences are two simple sentences joined by a conjunction.

Complex sentences have dependent clauses, and compound-complex sentences have both
types included.

 Simple sentence: Subject-verb structure ("The girl ran.")

 Compound sentence: Subject-verb-object-conjunction-subject-verb structure ("The
girl ran the marathon, and her cousin did, too.")
 Complex sentence: Dependent clause-subject-verb-object structure ("Although they
were tired after the marathon, the cousins decided to go to a celebration at the park.")
 Compound-complex sentence: Four clauses, dependent and independent structures
("Although they weren't fond of crowds, this was different, they decided, because of
the common goal that had brought everyone together.")

Syntax Variations and Distinctions

Syntax has changed some over the development of English through the centuries.

"The proverb Whoever loved that loved not at first sight? indicates that English negatives
could once be placed after main verbs" (Aitchison, 2001).

Not all people speak English in exactly the same way.

Social dialects learned by people with common backgrounds—such as a social class,

profession, age group, or ethnic group—also may influence the speakers' syntax.

Think of the differences between teenagers' slang and more fluid word order and grammar vs.
research scientists' technical vocabulary and manner of speaking to each other.

Social dialects are also called "social varieties."

Beyond Syntax

Following proper syntax does not guarantee that a sentence will have meaning, though.

Linguist Noam Chomsky created the sentence "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously," which
is syntactically and grammatically correct because it has the words in the correct order and
verbs that agree with subjects, but it's still nonsense.

With it, Chomsky showed that rules governing syntax are distinct from meanings that words
convey.

The distinction between grammar and syntax has been somewhat disrupted by recent research
in lexicogrammar, which takes the words into account in grammar rules.
 4

For example, some verbs (transitive ones, that perform an action on something) always take
direct objects:

 "She removed the index card from the old recipe box."

The verb is "removed" and the object is "index card."

Another example includes a transitive phrasal verb:

 "Please look over my report before I turn it in."

"Look over" is the phrasal verb and "report" is the direct object. To be a complete thought,
you need to include what's being looked over. Thus, it has to have a direct object.

Additional References

 Aitchison, Jean. Language Change: Progress or Decay? Cambridge University, 2001.

 Burgess, Alan. Enderby Outside. Heinemann, 1968.
 Chomsky, Noam. The Logical Structure of Linguistic Theory. University of Chicago,
1985.
 Miller, Jim. An Introduction to English Syntax. Edinburgh University, 2008.

Definitions of Syntax

Syntax is the study of the rules governing the way words are combined to form sentences in a
language. In this use, syntax is opposed to Morphology, the study of word structure.

Syntax is the study of interrelationships between elements of sentence structures, and the
rules governing the arrangement of these elements in sequence.

Syntax is the study of the structure of sentences and the grammatical rules governing the way
words are combined to form sentences.

Syntax is the study of the part of the human linguistic system that determines how sentences
are put together out of words.

Syntactic rules in a grammar account for the grammaticality of sentences, and the ordering of
words and morphemes.

Syntax is also concerned with speakers' ability to produce and understand an infinite set of
possible sentences.

The sentence is the highest-ranking unit of grammar.

Sentence Structure

Sentences are made up of smaller phrases. One aspect of the syntactic structure of sentences is
the division of a sentence into phrases, and those phrases into further phrases, and so forth.
 5

There are several different types of phrases that can be used in a sentence. The two phrases
which must be used in a sentence for it to make sense are a noun phrase and a verb phrase.

The child found the puppy

NP (the child) + VP (found the puppy)  VP = V (found) + NP (the puppy)

Another aspect of the syntactic structure of a sentence is "movement" relations that hold
between one syntactic position in a sentence and another.

The puppy found the child

Phrase Structure Rules describe how phrases are formed and in what order; these rules define
the following:

- Noun Phrase (NP)(Det.)(Adj.)Noun(PP)

- Verb Phrase (VP)Verb(NP)(PP)
- Prepositional Phrase (PP)Prep.NP
- Sentence (S)NP P

The parentheses indicate the categories are optional. Verbs don’t always have to be followed
by NP or PP and Nouns don’t always have to be preceded by Det; or Adj.

Different Approaches to Syntax

Knowledge of sentence structure is the object of study of all schools of grammar. One school
of grammar is comparatively more successful in dealing with certain aspects of syntax than
others.

Among all grammars, three appear to be well recognized, namely, traditional grammar,
structural Grammar and transformational generative grammar.

Sentence structure and Traditional Grammar:

Traditional grammar was initially based on European languages, particularly on Latin and
Greek. It is the most widespread and elaborate grammar and is widely used in language
teaching, thus termed pedagogic grammar.

In analyzing sentences, the method adopted is called parsing. This generally involves five
aspects: (1) identifying elements of the sentence, labeling the parts as subject, predicate,
object, attribute, adverbial, etc.; (2) identifying part of speech of each word; (3) pointing out
the inflection of the words; (4) describing the relationship between the words; (5) generalizing
the order of words.

Fundamentally, this approach to the analysis of sentence structure is notional in nature. It

classifies words and parts of sentences mainly according to meaning.

While traditional grammar is well established and some terms are still used now (subject,
predicate clause, etc), its weaknesses are pinpointed by modern linguists.
 6

Firstly, it is prescriptive in nature, attempting to lay down rules for speakers of a language.

Secondly, its grammatical categories are merely based on European languages and are found
inadequate in describing other languages.

Thirdly, it lacks a theoretical framework and thus fails to account for the nature of language.

Sentence structure and Structural Grammar

Structural grammar arose out of an attempt to deviate from traditional grammar. In the early
years of the twentieth century, American anthropologists and linguists began to describe
American Indian languages, as many of these tribal languages were dying.

They tried to innovate ways of analysis, because they found some traditional grammatical
categories based on European languages unfeasible in describing those native languages of
America. Among their innovations, two concepts are influential in linguistic studies.

One is the idea of form class, which is a wider concept than part of speech. Linguistic units
which can appear in the same slot are said to be in the same form class. For example, a(n),
the, my, that, every, etc, can be placed before nouns in English sentences. These words fall
into one form class. To put it technically, these linguistic units are observed to have the same
distribution. This formal approach to syntactic categories is more practicable in observing and
analyzing unknown languages.

The other important concept of structural grammar is the concept of immediate constituent.
Unlike traditional grammar, which adopts a synthetic (bottom-up) approach to syntax,
structural grammar is characterized by a top-down process of analysis.

A sentence is seen as a constituent structure. All the components of the sentence are its
constituents. A sentence can be cut into sections. Each section is its immediate constituent.
Then each section can be further cut into constituents. This on-going cutting is termed
Immediate Constituent Analysis.

This way of syntactic analysis adds a new dimension to the analysis of sentence structure. In
this way, sentence structure is analyzed not only horizontally but also vertically. In other
words, immediate constituent analysis can account for the linearity and the hierarchy of
sentence structure, and, therefore, structural ambiguity. Take the sentence I like green grapes
and pears, for example. It can be cut in two ways. In the phrase green grapes and pears, there
can be two different sets of immediate constituents.
 7

The analysis shows clearly that the linear structure is the same but the hierarchical structures
are different. That is why the phrase green grapes and pears can be interpreted in two ways.

Sentence structure and Transformational Generative Grammar

The hypothesis of Generative Grammar is that language is a structure of the human mind.
The goal of Generative Grammar is to make a complete model of this inner language.

This model could be used to describe all human languages and to predict the grammaticality
of any given utterance, i.e. to predict whether an utterance would sound correct to native
speakers of the language.

This approach to language was pioneered by Noam Chomsky. Most generative theories
assume that syntax is based upon the constituent structure of sentences.

Generative grammars focus primarily on the form of a sentence rather than its communicative
function.

Among the many ,generative theories of linguistics, the Chomskyan theories are:

Transformational Grammar (TG). This is the original theory of generative syntax laid out
by Chomsky in Syntactic Structures in 1957.

Government &Binding (GB). This is the revised theory in the tradition of TG developed
mainly by Chomsky in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

Minimalist Program (MP). This is a reworking of the theory out of GB framework

published in 1995.

IMMEDIATE CONSTITUENT ANALYSIS

ICAnalysis provides a visual representation of the way the parts of the sentence are related to
one another. He term immediate constituent refers to the binary method on which this
system is based:

 What are the two parts of the structure that constitute the whole?

In the following sentence, the subject (the boy) and the predicate (hit the ball) are the two
constituents immediately related, or related on the same level:

The boy/hit the ball

The next level of analysis shows the two immediate constituents of each of these:

The/ boy hit/the ball

The complete ICAnalysis loks like the following:

The/boy/hit/the/ball
 8

______________

_______________________
There are two important preliminary steps at each level of the analysis beforedividing a
particular structure into its constituents:

1- Underline the construction to be analyzed

2- Identify its form

Following is a step-y-step ICAnalysis of an expanded version of the previous simple

sentence:

 Step 1- Question: What is the form of the following construction?

The little boy who lives downstreet/has hit the ball into my yard.
Answer: Sentence

Procedure: cut the sentence into two parts: the subject & the predicate.

 Step 2- Question: What is the form of the following construction?

Has hit the ball/into my yard

Answer: Verb phrase

Procedure: In analyzing the verb phrase:

a- Identify the main verb. (in this case, hit)

b- Next, cut off any adverbials in pre-verb position. (In this case, there are none)
c- Now determine the number of complements and/or adverbials following the verb. (In
this case, two)
d- Cut them off, beginning with the most remote, (Note the vertical line in the verb
phrase above, the “cut”, shows that the two parts of the verb phrase “immediately
related to one another” are has hit he ball and into my yard. That is, the preposition
phrase modifies the entire verb phrase has hit the ball, not simply hit.) ontinue cutting
complements and/or modifiers up to the verb:

has hit/the ball

e- Cut off auxiliaries, beginning with the most remote

has/hit
 9

 In a verb string with three or more auxiliaries, they are cut off one at a time:

Has/been/hit

___/___________

So far, the ICAnalysis looks like this:

The little boy who lives down the street/has/hit/the ball/into my yard
/__________/__________/

/_____________________/___________________

______________________________________________/__________________________________________

 Step 3- Question: What is the form of the underlined construction?

The little boy/who lives down the street

Answer: Noun phrase

Procedure: In analyzing the noun phrase:

a- Identify the noun headword. (In this case, boy)

b- Determine how many modifiers follow the headword, then cut them off, beginning
with the most remote. (Note this analysis shows that who lives down the street is
immediately related to the noun phrase the little boy, not simply to the headword
boy.)
c- Determine the number of preceding modifiers, including the determiner, and cut them
off, beginning with the moqst remote. After drawing each vertical line, underline the
remaining structure before drawing another vertical line. You will notice that every
vertical line bisets a horizontal line:

the /little/boy

__/____/____
English Studies
Introduction to Media / S4 (G2)
Pr. Majdoubi

MEDIA LITERACY

Media literacy is a set of tools, skills and techniques that help

students use the media effectively. Students are hence taught how to

think critically when evaluating media messages, which enables them to

gauge the credibility of information drawn from multiples sources.

Approaching the media methodically allows students to recognize

its impact upon beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviors. Furthermore, it

enables students to compare and contrast different perspectives. It also

provides them with the required skills needed to produce communication

adequately and to express themselves by using a variety of media.

The ​core concepts of media literacy are of great help in

separating facts from fiction, and can be summarized as follows:

1. All media messages are ​constructed​. This means that media

messages are man-made materials. Thus, they are

1
 representations of how reality is perceived by its creator,

rendered into codes and decrypted by the consumer. It is the

seeming naturalness of media texts and discourse that makes

their success. Media messages should hence be continually

subjected to skeptical analysis, just like any other knowledge. By

exposing the process by which media messages are assembled,

by ​deconstructing their constitutive components, we figure

out who built the message, out of what materials and to what

effect. In so doing, we create safe critical spaces for audiences.

2. Each medium has a unique “​language​” of construction. Each

media has its own creative language: camera close-ups convey

intimacy, large headlines signal significance, etc. Understanding

media language helps detect and thwart manipulation by others.

3. Media messages serve specific purposes. An author’s intention

may be to entertain, to persuade, or to inform the reader.

4. The way media select content, and the way they process

and shape it, can greatly influence how the message is received.

5. Media consumers interpret the messages variously. Each person

views media through his or her single lenses that are molded by

2
 education and social context, which in turn are shaped by

demographics such as age, gender, and cultural background.

6. Media have embedded values and points of view. This means

that media messages carry a subtext of what is significant.

7. Most media messages are organized to gain profit and/or power.

To ​deconstruct biases in media, you can use the following

questions that help to delve deeper into the backbone of media messages:

1. Whose message is this? Who created or paid for it? Why?

2. What is the text (stated meaning) of the message?

3. What is the subtext (hidden meaning) of the message?

4. What creative techniques are employed to grab my attention?

5. How might different people respond to this same message?

6. What values are conveyed in, or omitted from, this message?

7. What are the main motives behind sending this message?

8. What positive and negative messages are expressed?

9. Does this message empower you or disempower you?

10. How does this message serve the media maker’s own interests?

3
 In a nutshell, when you consider the key concepts behind media

messages, you develop the ability to remain tentative about any

interpretation you make until you have gathered all the facts and learned

all relevant information about the message and its context by exploring

different avenues. Thus, you make sense of messages and feel free to

validate or refute their legitimacy. As critical readers you are required to

dissect, analyze, and reflect on informational texts, not just believe them!

4
English Studies
Introduction to Media / S4 (G2)
Pr. Majdoubi

MEDIA LITERACY: THE MEDIA TRIANGLE

Media literacy is different from media “bashing,” although media

literacy involves adopting a critical stance toward the media. Media literacy,

as we shall see, needs to be examined from multiple theoretical perspectives.

Also, media literacy does not mean “do not watch; it means watch carefully.”

Living in a mediated environment requires us to decode words, images

and sound-symbol associations. Besides, we need to know that media

messages are constructions that occur within a context. Media mindfulness

helps students identify the who, where, how, and why of media messages.

The Media Triangle is a model, or framework, for both analyzing and

creating media texts. It offers supplementary ways to explore the core

concepts of media literacy (please consult the previous handout).

The Media Triangle provides you with a checklist of questions for

deconstructing media texts. It starts from the assumption that each media

text is produced in a particular way, for a particular audience. The graphic

organizer below was created by Eddie Dick (source: researchgate.net):

1
 Briefly, the Media Triangle can be used to analyze media (deconstruct

media in quest of meaning) and to produce media (construct meaning). This

technique helps to reveal underlying myths created by marketing strategies.

Let us put it into practice:

1. Select at least three examples of media messages—such as a magazine

advertisement, a TV sitcom, a computer game, a music video, or a movie in
the theatre—and use the Media Triangle to analyze how meaning is created
in each one. The following questions can help you deconstruct a text based
on the different sides of the media triangle:

2
  Do you find this message relatable? Why or why not?
 Who do you think is the target audience?
 Do you think it raised awareness of an issue? Why or why not?
 Who do you think produced this text?
 Do you think it helped sell their products? Why or why not?
 What is the best medium for this message? Why or why not?

2. What is the explicit message of the advertisement below? What visual and
verbal details in the advertisement support this interpretation?

3. Examine the following example of print media. Using the three sides of the
Media Triangle—media text, audience, and production—provide suitable
answers to the corresponding questions: What meaning is conveyed? To
whom is the meaning conveyed? How and why is the meaning conveyed?

3
English Studies
Introduction to Media / S4 (G2)
Pr. Majdoubi

Journalists often refer to what they write as stories.

Generally speaking, stories sound more stimulating than articles or

reports. Stories are long or short, fictitious or factual narratives. True

stories are about what actually happened. They relate witnessed or

experienced events. Besides developing storytelling skills, there are a

few technical points to bear in mind when structuring news stories.

Newspaper reading is selective, and hence does not entail

commitment to the whole. Newspapers should not be time and effort

consuming for readers who skim rather than read through a story.

Journalistic writing is different from both creative writing

—such as fiction— and academic essay writing. It puts across

information in an intriguing way. And so, attention grabbers are a

must, or else the story would be deadly boring.

1
 The overriding question here is: How to write simply and

engagingly? Good journalists structure their news stories based on the

“inverted pyramid” model, whereby information is presented in

descending order of importance. This means that the most significant

information will come in the first place, which leaves it to the reader

to continue the article or give it up.

Below are a series of tips for writing an appealing story on a

given topic, whether in print or online. Some of them may not align

with what you have been taught in English Literature. In news

writing, the decisive moment is the introduction to the story (lead),

while in fiction it is the climax which occurs after the reader has

2
become involved in the conflict and in the lives of the characters. The

news writing style applies to all forms of journalistic writing. The list

of guidelines is as follows:

1. Summarize the narrative in a single sentence, starting with

the main facts. Your story needs to instantly hook the reader.

2. Make your text concise. The first few sentences need to

include the WH-questions: “Who, what, where, when, why,
and how.” Redundancy weakens the quality of journalism.

3. Use the active tense which is faster: For example, “A cure

for the coronavirus has been found by scientists” takes longer to
read than “Scientists have found a cure for the coronavirus.”

4. Highlight what is topical or original, as in a world full of

interferences why would readers care about what you say?

5. Focus on humanness. By putting a human face on the

story, you create emotional ties that draw readers in at once.

6. Avoid jargon (expressions peculiar to various fields of

special knowledge). Every profession has its own terminology,
including journalism. For example, a byline is a short phrase
referring to the article’s author. A caption is a short text under
a picture in a magazine or newspaper. A headline is the title of
a newspaper story, printed in large letters at the top of the story.

3
 7. Write acronyms out in full in the first reference; for
instance, “The 2019 Novel Coronavirus” (2019-nCoV).

8. Use quotes, and make sure you do it properly. Quoting out

of context sounds a little odd and may lead to logical fallacies.

9. Keep it real. Never write things you are not sure about.

10. Practice as much as possible to foster your writing skills.

In a nutshell, the primary message in journalism is: keep it

simple, clear, accurate, succinct, and elegant. Sugarcoating can be

confusing or even misleading. Harold Evans summed it up as follows:

It is not enough to get the news. We must be able to put

it across. Meaning must be unmistakable, and it must

also be succinct. Readers have not the time and

newspapers have not the space for elaborate

reiteration. This imposes decisive requirements. In

protecting the reader from incomprehension and

boredom, the text editor has to insist on language

which is specific, emphatic and concise (Essential English

for Journalists, Editors and Writers).

4
English Studies
Introduction to Media / S4 (G2)
Pr. Majdoubi

Newspapers and Magazines

Newspapers and magazines are print publications that are

widely read around the world. They are issued at regular intervals

over time and provide instant information to the general public.

Despite their dissimilarities, newspapers and magazines share a

number of commonalities. Some of the most common variations

between newspapers and magazines are measured in terms of their

content, style, size, design, layout, readability and advertisements.

Newspapers are written for a broad spectrum of readers, while

magazines are intended for specific types of audiences that generally

expect more of a magazine than a newspaper (more elaborate articles,

more complex thoughts, brighter images, higher-quality paper, etc.).

Newspapers are fresher in content, as they are usually published

on a day-to-day basis, while magazines are printed weekly or monthly.

1
 Newspapers are bigger in size and can be folded. Magazines

tend to have a book format and are, therefore, more easily handled.

Newspapers focus on appealing headlines in order to engage

readers more efficiently. While their content is commonly in black

and white, magazines are more colorful and better illustrated.

Newspapers and magazines might both be purchased

individually, or by subscription (weekly, monthly, or yearly), in

different retail outlets (newsstands, bookstores, train stations, etc.).

Aiming at a broad spectrum of personal interests, newspapers

strive to fulfill readers’ longings for timely information and

entertainment by conveying current news about politics, economics,

finance, crime, and so forth. Magazines, in contrast, lay emphasis on

specific topics, such as sports, health, food, interior decoration, etc.

Articles featured in newspapers are usually more topical and

shorter than those contained in magazines. Basically, magazines are

not produced from extensive research, even though digitized

newspapers and magazines are now available in academic libraries.

News stories are usually written in a matter-of-fact style.

Newspapers deal with reports plainly, concisely and objectively. As for

2
magazines, articles are longer and more opinionated. Magazines

inform amusingly and may be read more responsively in leisure time.

Magazine articles are largely expressed in a more elevated prose

style, as complexity suits the taste of the specialized reader. Each

magazine has a unique mission and vision, subject matter focus,

target audience, grabbing-attention strategies, editorial policy, etc.

Newspapers are driven more by readership than by sponsorship.

Magazines are, therefore, more advertiser-driven than newspapers.

Due to their sophisticated layout and design, newspapers are

more affordable and, consequently, more popular than magazines.

Historically, newspapers were printed on cheap, off-

white paper known as “newsprint.” Magazines, on the other hand,

were printed on clay coated paper which enhanced their durability. In

a nutshell, magazines are specialized documents that can be archived.

Newspapers are more practical materials for day-to-day consumption.

Let us put it into practice:

1- How would you define a newspaper?

2- What makes a magazine a magazine?
3- Prepare a write-up of about 500 words on the features of your
favorite newspaper or magazine.

3
English Studies
Introduction to Media / S4 (G2)
Pr. Majdoubi

Mass media messages become much more credible when they are

endowed with the capacity to shape people’s opinions and attitudes. Some

appeals may thus be added to them to enhance their overall effect.

Persuasion is an art. There are better and worse ways to convince

others. Aristotle suggested three modes for persuasion, otherwise known as

rhetorical appeals, and these include ethos, pathos and logos:

1. Pathos is a way of swaying an audience by appealing to emotion rather

than evidence. Persuasion by means of pathos bypasses intellectual

filters. Pathos involves making an impassioned plea or telling an

emotional story for the sake of an argument. For example: “I know you

will make the right decision because you are such a good-looking

person.” Associating sagacity with beauty sounds nonsensical, even

suspicious. Using emotional appeals in advertising can influence

consumers’ response in many ways. These appeals are often designed to

get the audience to identify only viscerally with the presenter’s message,

thereby ignoring critical thinking skills, such as reflective skepticism.

Pathos can be expressed through words, pictures and bodily gestures.

1
2. Logos is a way of persuading an audience with logic and reason

through stating facts and figures, evidence and proof. Example: “You

will not find any rabbit along this road. In forty years of driving the

same route, I have not seen a single one.” Emotional appeals can be

useful in commercial and advertising contexts. They do not always hold

up, though. Thereby, they need to be fortified by engaging the intellect.

3. Ethos is a way of convincing an audience by using the authority or

credibility of the persuader. This can involve knowledge, experience,

expertise and integrity. As Aristotle pointed out in his Rhetoric: “We

believe good men more fully and more readily than others.” An example

of ethos would be: “He is a forensics and ballistics expert; no one is

more qualified and experienced than he is to investigate the crime.”

In brief, Aristotle’s modes of persuasion are ethos (establishing

credibility), pathos (evoking emotion), and logos (demonstrating logic).

The combination of all these elements is necessary to build a single

argument. Ethos, logos, and pathos can be used appropriately to fortify

your argument or inappropriately to manipulate an audience through

the use of fallacies. Speakers need to substantiate their emotional

appeals with factual data to connect more effectively to the public. An

appeal to pathos merely complements advertising and informational

content, but shall in no way replace fact-based evidence and reasoning.

2
English Studies
Introduction to Media / S4 (G2)
Pr. Majdoubi

In the process of mass communication a message needs to be effective.

Here we shall shed light on the distinct features of mass media messages.

American sociologist and psychologist Harold Lasswell summarized

the communication process thusly: Who says what in which channel to whom

with what effect? This is known as Lasswell’s Communication Model.

Though developed in 1948, Lasswell’s linear model of communication is still

being used in sciences and public relations as a classic sender receiver model.

What: The message is the focal point of any communication. It may be

conveyed through words, pictures, gestures, signs, symbols, or even silence.

The message to be effective must have certain attributes, such as

intelligibility. The message should flow logically from one point to the next.

Thereby, it needs to be truthful, plain, clear, concise, relevant, compelling,

memorable, and tailored. In communication tailoring is the personalization of

messages for an individual based on his/her beliefs, traits, or abilities.

1
 The recipient (listener-viewer) grasps the message by drawing different

conclusions. This process depends on the audiences’ individual backgrounds,

experiences and psychological dispositions. Inference is a process related to

the inferring persons and will, thereby, be necessarily subjective.

It is likewise asserted that media credibility, also known as ethos, is

paramount to effective communication, along with message and audience

characteristics. It refers to the perceived believability of media content. Many

people are likely to deem a source credible if:

- The content is reliable. Is this fact or opinion? Does it reflect

undisputed facts or balanced opinions? Does the author cite references
or list sources? Is the information biased? Is the author pushing an
agenda or particular side? Does he try to sell you a product? Is it stated?

- The authority of the information creator is attested. Does the author

have the required credentials, academic background, or experiences to
write about the topic? Who is the publisher or sponsor? Are they
reputable? What is the publisher’s interest, if any, in this information?

- The currency, or timeliness, of the source is evidenced. In some

areas and disciplines, information needs to be up-to-date. Would
you want information about diabetes treatments from 1970? No way!

In a nutshell, there are three areas to consider when determining

whether information is credible or not: Reliability (content), authority

(author), Currency (issue date). The three main criteria are interconnected.

2
English Studies
Introduction to Literature (S4/G1)
Pr. Majdoubi

As far as the plot is concerned, “Marriage is a Private Affair”

narrates the passion of a Nigerian couple who broke away from social

constraints to celebrate love in their own way. Nnaemeka and Nene

Atang are of Igbo and Efik ethnic backgrounds respectively. Nene urges

Nnaemeka to write a letter to his father to announce their marriage. He

prefers not to, as he accurately anticipates that his father has chosen a

local bride for him. He intends to enlighten his father in flesh and bone.

As regards conflict, there is a generational conflict between father

and son. Achebe illustrates this gap by depicting the moral dilemma

between Nnaemeka and Okeke. The son transcends the traditional Igbo

culture by proposing to Nene without his father’s consent. As an adult,

Nnaemeka rejects guardianship, whether parental or tribal. In so doing,

he becomes the advocate of modernity and hence the author’s persona.

Between the unquestionable law of the father and the wisdom of the

village—and of the ancestors—the overlapping voices of the author and

1
Nnaemeka are brought in to mediate. As usual, the truth lies midway

between the extremes, somewhere “in between” the two opposing

standards of what is right and wrong, possibly in the interstitial space.

Concerning characterization, Nene Atang is portrayed as an

endearing schoolteacher from Calabar.1 Born and bred in Lagos, her

metropolitan background sharply contrasts with the tribal mentality of

the villagers. Nnaemeka’s father objects to her union with his son on the

grounds that she is not an Igbo lady, a discrimination that shocks her all-

encompassing conscience. As the narrator remarks: “In the cosmopolitan

atmosphere of the city it had always seemed to her something of a joke

that a person’s tribe could determine whom he married.” By writing a

solicitation letter to her father-in-law, Nene skillfully turned the situation

in favor of her household. In so doing, she proved her high family values.

Nnaemeka is the emblem of urbanity and modernity. He seems to

be cultivated, although his educational background is vaguely alluded to.

He incarnates the chivalric values of love, gentility, loyalty, self-reliance,

and resolution. He has chosen his non-Igbo fiancée based on her humane

qualities. To publicize his impending commitment, he bravely meets with

his father. His father’s peers suggest that the son exhibits rebellious

behaviors against Biblical principles. Nnaemeka rationalized his

1 Calabar is a seaport in southeastern Nigeria.

2
antagonism toward his father as an intrusion of the tribe in his personal

matters. He does not want to jeopardize his ties to his homeland and

keeps hoping that his father will open his arms to him. Achebe

denounces rigid mindsets. When Nnaemeka objects to his union with the

Igbo lady, given the absence of love, his father curtly replies: “Nobody

said you did. Why should you?” In their epistolary exchange, the father

decrees with authoritarianism what the son is summoned to execute:

I have found a girl who will suit you admirably—Ugoye Nweke (…)
She has a proper Christian upbringing. When she stopped
schooling some years ago, her father (a man of sound judgment)
sent her to live in the house of a pastor where she received all the
training a wife could have. He Sunday School teacher has told me
that she reads the Bible very fluently. I hope we shall begin
negotiations when you come home in December.

Ugoye Nweke is neither audible nor visible in the story. The meek

young lady has been designated by Okeke and his neighbor as the perfect

match for Nnaemeka. She is the eldest daughter of a villager, Jacob

Nweke. Ugoye seems more as a passive than as an active agent. She has

become an object of negotiation between the two families who intend to

seal her destiny in defiance of her desires. Ugoye is overshadowed by her

father. Even Nnaemeka refers to her by her patriarch’s name, which

implies both her social alienation and self-effacement. Achebe exhorts all

women to redefine themselves and take charge of their own destinies.

3
 Okeke is Nneameka’s conservative father. He thinks the old tribal

customs should go unchallenged. To him, the Igbo people must strictly

comply with their inbreeding marriages, and any union outside of the

tribe bears within itself the seeds of its own destruction. As a zealous

Paulinian2 Christian, Okeke believes that women should live under the

protective wing of their spouses. In this tribal tug-of-war, Okeke wrestles

with his conscience to preserve his honor at the expense of his own son.

The father, venting his wrath, disfigures his son’s wedding picture.

After defacing Nene’s portrait, he returns the relic to his son. Achebe is

drawing our attention to the “unthought-of” ideology and its blind spots.

Ultimately, after Nene’s solicitations, the father regrets his extravagances

and realizes how his hubris—excessive pride—is destructive. Okeke is a

dynamic character who has unpredictably changed his position to

embrace his two grandsons. Thus, children play a vital role in reaffirming

ancestral bonds. Okeke’s eventual metamorphosis turns the stone within

his heart into a ray of sunshine that brings hope back to the Igbo village.

2 In Achebe’s “Marriage is A Private Affair” there is a Biblical allusion to the Epistle of

Saint Paul to the Corinthians, in which the Apostle declared that women should remain
silent in the churches. Nnaemeka’s father cites the Bible to justify his perception of women.
4
English Studies
Introduction to Literature (S4/G1)
Pr. Majdoubi

Chinua Achebe’s “Marriage is a Private Affair” is a thematically

rich story. Amongst the most significant themes the story deals with, one can

mention the entanglement of past and present. Achebe is telling us that

Nigerians are burdened with traditions, engulfed by their past, which

prevents them from living life to the fullest. Humans are loaded with the

mummified heritage. In his essay, “The African Writer and the English

Language,” Achebe pleads in favor of values that are still in communion with

the ancestral heritage, while at the same suiting new African settings.1 To

keep the living things, the story implies, one needs to let go of the dead ones.

Another major theme is the role of superstitions, such as witchcraft and

the belief in ancestors. Madbogwu, Okeke’s neighbor, recommends that

Okeke be cured by the village herbalist to regain his son’s affection.

Superstitious rituals are anchored in the natives’ culture. Nevertheless, as

noted by Reverend George Thomas Basden who spent about forty years in

Igbo land: “The people are intensely religious A casual observer might

1Chinua Achebe, “The African Writer and the English Language,” in Morning Yet on Creation Day,
Heinemann, 1975, p. 62.
1
pronounce them superstitious, but the fact is, the belief in the spiritual

exercises a profound influence over every detail of their lives”.2

All the aspects of the Igbo world—whether material, spiritual and socio-

cultural—are made intelligible to them by their myths, cosmology, and

religion. African gnosis reveals how everything came into being, thereby

encoding the Igbo worldview. Igbo superstitions are hence a way through

which people have been defining and reinventing themselves over time. In

that respect, “Marriage is a Private Affair” may be read as a piece of history

that yields priceless information about Igbo culture and social organization.

The theme of consanguineous marriages underpins the entire story.

Endogenous unions are believed to fortify the ties of kinship in rural areas

and become estranging when unobserved. Okeke embodies the traditional

ways of thinking, while Nene epitomizes the urban lifestyle. As for Nnaemeka,

he stands in the synaptic space between the two cultures. He knows how to

decide, though. Nnaemeka will not perpetuate the village legacy of arranged

marriages, as he is convinced that marriage is strictly a private matter. By

resisting the moral code of his native village, he incarnates a milder version of

Christianity, which is more Christ-like (Jesus) than Pauline (Saint Paul).

When Nnaemeka’s marriage was publicized, a man from the village

protested: “It is the beginning of the end.” He voices his anguish at the idea

that traditional values are on the verge of crumbling. No man in the Christian
2 George T. Basden, The Geographical Journal, Vol. 39, No. 3, Mar., 1912, p. 246.
2
community has ever married a non-tribal woman: “It has never been heard,”

says an elderly man. Transgression is felt as a threat to the Igbo clan. Another

man vociferates: “What did Our Lord say? Sons shall rise against their

Fathers; it is there in the Holy Book.” These biblical allusions highlight the

sacredness of ancestral marriages and the desecration of those who deviate

from tribal norms. Nnaemeka, who subjects cults and traditions to critical

scrutiny, becomes the ugly duckling of the village. Okeke suggests that his son

is tempted by Satan. Individuals who think for themselves are judged insane.

Discuss the theme of gender in Chinua Achebe’s “Marriage is a Private

Affair”. To what extent are gender roles consented or contested amongst
both male and female characters? Support your arguments by introducing
textual evidence in your essay. You can use the following expressions below:

- As noted on page 10,

- According to the author,
- An example of this occurs when the main character says, “…”
- The opening/closing lines make it clear that. . .
- The author illustrates this point as follows: “…”
- Toward the end of the story Maya says, “…”
- For instance,
- In the words of the protagonist/antagonist…

Additional linking verbs: argues, reveals, remarks, comments, maintains,

insists, explains, claims, wonders, demonstrates, points out, concludes, etc.

3
English Studies
Introduction to Literature (S4/G1)
Pr. Majdoubi

“MARRIAGE IS A PRIVATE AFFAIR” BY CHINUA ACHEBE (2)

In this handout, we shall apply the literary devices that we formerly

explained to Chinua Achebe’s short story, “​Marriage is a Private Affair​.”

1. Setting

Achebe’s story is set in colonial Nigeria in the twentieth century, that is,

the decade prior to independence in 1960. The romantic union involving the

two protagonists​, ​Nene​ ​Atang​ and ​Nnaemeka​,​ ​is rooted in Lagos City.

The place of residence where the couple lives, 16 Kasanga Street, stands

in stark contrast with the rural landscapes. The twofold setting paves the way

for the larger theme of ​Culture Clash​, as the two spaces painted by Achebe,

symbolize contrasting values and lifestyles. The agrarian culture is embodied

by the village and its old cults, while the urban society is epitomized by Lagos.

A setting shift occurs when Nnaemeka decides to return to his father’s

nest. The narrative then changes to an Igbo village in rural Nigeria, which will

1
necessarily affect the social life of the couple. Modernist writers manipulate

perspectives and settings to help the reader gain a better insight into the plot.

When a setting shift occurs, the reader feels that the information given to him

likens a curvy river which has several tributaries. Modernists questioned the

univocal dimensionality of the truth. Linear thinking in a non-linear world

may sound paradoxical to some; others believe it is possible, though unlikely.

As for time, in Achebe’s short story, the reader is left without specific

landmarks. A subtle clue is craftily hinted at to suggest time, namely, the

epistolary exchange between the couple and the patriarch​—​Okeke​—​which

extends over a period of about eight years. Nene’s matrimonial and maternal

experience marks the passing of time and the succession of generations.

Weather conditions become an integral part of the setting. Achebe

projects his states of mind onto the climate to reflect the floating moods of his
1
characters. As a figure of speech, ​“pathetic fallacy” was frequently used by

Romantic writers. For instance, when Nnaemeka’s father receives a letter

from Nene requesting a family gathering, a sudden change occurs in the air:

Very soon it began to rain, the first rain in the year. It came down in large
sharp drops and was accompanied by the lightning and thunder which
mark a change of season. Okeke was trying hard not to think of his two
grandsons. But he knew he was now fighting a losing battle. He tried to

1
The term refers to the attribution of human responses to inanimate objects of nature.
2
 hum a favourite hymn but the pattering of large rain drops on the roof
broke up the tune. His mind immediately returned to the children.

Nnaemeka’s meeting with his father takes place, Achebe tells us, “when

the parching December sun had set, and a fresh reviving wind blew on the

leaves.” Metaphorically speaking, sunset marks a new dawn. This merging

moment implies the dissipation of the ghosts of the past. By standing in the

light, the son heroically faces the dimness of the dead heritage, letting in new

values. He is confident only light can figuratively and literally dispel the dark.

2. ​Point of View

“Marriage is a Private Affair” is told in third-person omniscient, which

was the standard perspective for most nineteenth-century novels. As an Igbo

writer endowed with the mission of transmission, an African who sought to

keep the oral tradition of storytelling alive, Achebe wrote from an insider’s

point of view. This is how he conceived of his noble-minded literary vocation:

It is only the story that can continue beyond the war and the warrior. It is

the story that outlives the sound of war-drums and the exploits of

brave fighters. It is the story, not the others, that saves our progeny

from blundering like blind beggars into the spikes of the cactus fence.

The story is our escort; without it, we are blind. Does the blind man

own his escort? No, neither do we the story; rather it is the story that

3
owns us and directs us. It is the thing that makes us different from

cattle; it is the mark on the face that sets one people apart from their

neighbours​ (Chinua Achebe, ​Anthills of the Savanna​, 1987, 114).

4
English Studies

Introduction to Literature (S4/G1)

Pr. Majdoubi

“Marriage is a Private Affair” by Chinua Achebe

“Marriage is a Private Affair” was published in 1952, that is,

eight years before Nigeria gained independence from the British Empire.

Like most works by Chinua Achebe, this short story can be read as a

fictionalized piece of history. Thus, it seems worthwhile to shed light on

the historical background of the text and its author.

On Chinua Achebe

Chinua Achebe is a Nigerian novelist who was granted the honorific

title “Patriarch of the African Novel.” Born in Nigeria in 1930, Achebe

achieved a remarkable success with his first novel, Things Fall Apart

(1958), which has been translated into more than fifty languages. Achebe

followed with novels such as No Longer at Ease (1960), Arrow of God

(1964), A Man of the People (1966), and Anthills of the Savannah (1987).

He was also a distinguished poet. After a prosperous career, Achebe

passed away in Boston, Massachusetts, in 2013.

1
About His Fiction

“Marriage is a private Affair” follows in the critical wake of

postcolonial feminist studies. Underneath the surface of the short story

lies the Nigerian conflict between African cultures and the European

colonial powers. The clash between the Western culture and the Black

heritage, as well as between native traditionalists and reformists, exists

ever since the Christian interaction with the local spirits of animist belief.

The ethnic conflict, which forms the backdrop of the narrative, led to

dreadful human tragedies. It has thereby become a major concern for all

antimilitarist writers, be they white or black.

The Ibo Tribe: Some Background

It is worth noting that Chinua Achebe belongs to the Ibo, also

known as Igbo, one of Nigeria’s largest ethnic groups. He is hence very

closely concerned with the belief system of the native people.

Commenting on what motivated him to become a writer, Achebe said: “I

read some appalling European novels about Africa . . . and realized that

our story could not be told for us by anyone else.” This statement echoes

his eloquent aphorism in Things Fall Apart: “Until the lions have their

own historians, the history of the hunt will glorify the hunter.” Achebe

wrote “Marriage is a Private Affair” when he was still a student. By

building a bridge between the past and the future, between the current

2
condition and aspirational possibilities, he helped foster a contemporary

view of the question of “Nigerianess” or “Nigerianity.” The complex

issues of multiple identities and sense of belonging resonate throughout

his writings which deconstruct racial and gender assumptions. The Igbo

people believe they are descended from the Lost Tribes of Israel. The

name borne by one of the characters in “Marriage is a Private Affair,”

namely Jacob Nweke, an Ibo of Christian background, may well imply

this Hebrew ancestry as well as the Jewish roots of Christianity itself.

Symbolism of the Title

The title of Chinua Achebe’s short story, “Marriage is a Private

Affair,” conveys both polysemy and irony. There is polysemy, in that the

term “affair” has two meanings: it denotes a private matter, but also an

adulterous relationship. Verbal irony, which has already been explained

in the handout of literary devices, comes to contradict its own literal

meaning; that is to say, the marriage between the two protagonists is

anything but intimate. The couple’s life is publically judged in

Nnaemeka’s village and the societal verdict of ostracism rigorously falls.

3
English Studies
Introduction to Literature (S4/G1)
Pr. Majdoubi

Compromise
By Laura BRESKO

Compromise is a one-act play by Laura Bresko. A one-act play, as its

name indicates, is a short play. It is distinct from a three-act or five-act play,

as it deals with a single dramatic situation. A short play has its own logic and

its own components. Thus, it should not be thought of as a condensation of a

long play which consists of a sequence of situations. A one-act play usually

requires the three dramatic unities expounded by Aristotle in his Poetics:

1. Unity of time: The play should take place in no more than a day.
2. Unity of space: The play should take place in a single area.
3. Unity of action: The play should be as concise as possible.

In a nutshell, one-act plays entail both high precision and tight

structure. Artistic economy is thus the most sought-after effect, which leaves

no room for superfluous detail. Rhythmical pattern lends a play its dramatic

value, and this involves building up tension and releasing it. Larger-than-life

characters and intricate plotlines are confidently not typical of one-act plays.

1
 A play script includes three kinds of text:

1) Characters’ names are written in bold.

2) Stage directions are written in italics and enclosed in (parentheses)
or [brackets].
3) Dialogue is written in plain text.

Compromise presents only two characters: Carol, a she-mockingbird

who lives in a tree in the forest, and Slapper, a beaver who cuts down trees

for food and for building a dam.

There is an overall atmosphere of anger, as the bird feels threatened:

“angry chorus of bird calls” (paragraph 1), “outraged” (paragraph 4) “angrily”

(3 occurrences; paragraphs 14, 24, 26). But, at the close of the play, tone

words indicate joy. As different events happen, the tone shifts. The built-up

tension is released, as the characters could reach an agreement or settlement.

We can notice that sound is prior to light in the first stage direction.

Sound effects permeate the whole play. The very names of the characters are

acoustic: “They call me Slapper because I take my big tail and hit it on the

water, making sounds that I thought were beautiful, at least until I heard your

song” (paragraph 27); “They call me Carol because I sing festive songs”

(paragraph 28). The play has come full circle, since it finishes with a sonic

rhythm or beat; the last stage direction is as follows: “Sounds of the Texas

state bird singing as the stage goes dark” (paragraph 37). Also significant is

the closing visual note: “as the stage goes dark.” Thereby, the play

begins in darkness, and so it ends. It goes without saying that it lasts one day.

2
 The play takes the form of a negotiation between a bird and a beaver.

The she-bird felt endangered, though not helpless, by the beaver that had

crossed her borders. She took her courage in both paws and fervidly secured

her territory by engaging in a jousting. The bird is the worthy winner of the

verbal tug-of-war, for her arguments are better built. It is comical that the

fight between these two animals is rhetorical rather than physical, giving it a

human dimension. In this sense, we can read the play as an extended

personification. As the dialogue unfolds, we discover the true face of the

beaver as a predator that fully ignores his surroundings. He is voluntary and

open to exploration, though. At the end, he even apologized for his intrusion.

The Stage directions (didaskalia) sketch out a basic arc of the plotline

by revealing action as well as subtleties of characters and their interactions.

Here are some examples of stage directions and their possible meanings:

Paragraph Stage Direction Purpose

[In darkness, the audience hears a loud It helps establish the setting:
1 crack and then a thud, like a tree has just when (in darkness) and
fallen. There’s an angry chorus of bird calls where (in the forest). What
that follows. Lights come up on Slapper, happened? A crack and a
chewing a branch from the fallen tree. Carol thud are heard. The shady
flaps about and then flies over and lands visual effect and the sound
next to Slapper.] effect caused by falling trees
set an ominous mood.

6 Carol [Pointing with her wing.] Pointing is a species-specific

human feature that typically
suggests direction or blame.

9 Slapper [scratching his head.] This gesture shows that one

is puzzled or unsure.
Slapper is apparently
annoyed by Carol’s reaction.

3
12-13 - Carol [Sings a short, happy song, and then Birds’ singing expresses
takes a bow.] delight, and bowing before
- Slapper [Clapping his paws together.] an applauding audience is a
sign of recognition of merit.

17 Slapper [Laughing in disbelief.] This stage direction implies

that Slapper is inclined to
skepticism; that is, he is not
as green (naïve) as he looks.

18 Carol [thoughtfully.] This highlights the pensive

attitude of Carol as a keen
negotiator and deal maker.
She managed to work out a
compromise with the beaver
and could hence preserve
her existence. She has a
sense of community and
defends all residents of the
woods (paragraph 24). Her
altruism contrasts with the
selfishness of the beaver.

25 Slapper [Stammering.]: I…I…I had, had no Slapper has run out of

idea. I’m really very sorry to have upset you. arguments and lost control,
thus giving the impression
of a bullied child.

26 Carol [angrily.] Carol is not content with

Slapper’s apology and
continues her plea in favor
of land species (paragraph
26). The beaver “seems to
know” quite well his marine
neighbors, Carol says, and
he should also sharpen his
knowledge of all ecosystems.

27 Slapper [extends his paw.] He is eager to know more

about Carol, as he is
impressed by her charisma.

37 [Sounds of the Texas state bird singing as Carol has the first and the
the stage goes dark.] final say. She celebrates her
triumph in an artistic way.

4
English Studies
Introduction to Literature (S4/G1)
Pr. Majdoubi

Have You Ever Seen?

Have you ever seen a sheet on a river bed? A

Or a single hair from a hammer’s head? A
Has the foot of a mountain any toes? B
And is there a pair of garden hose? B

Does the needle ever wink its eye? C

Why doesn’t the wing of a building fly? C
Can you tickle the ribs of a parasol? D
Or open the trunk of a tree at all? D

Are the teeth of a rake ever going to bite? E

Have the hands of a clock any left or right? E
Can the garden plot be deep and dark? F
And what is the sound of a birch’s bark? F

Vocabulary:
- A river bed: the ground which a river flows over.
- A hammer: a tool that consists of a handle and a heavy piece of metal.
- A foot of a mountain: the base; bottom.
- A garden hose: a hosepipe used to water plants in a garden or lawn.
- A hose: old-fashioned socks, a word used especially in a historical context.
- A needle eye: the hole at the top of a needle.
- A wing of the building: a part of it which sticks out from the main part.
- A trunk: American “trunk” is British “boot” only when referring to cars.
- A trunk of a tree: the part that connects the leafy crown with its roots.
- A birch bark: a canoe made with the bark of a birch tree.
1
 British poet, memoirist, and novelist Vernon Scannell stated: “The

purpose of poetry is not to inform but to inflame.” This stresses the idea that

when you read poetry, you should read to the beat—or rhythm—of the poem.

“Have You Ever Seen?” is a traditional poem written by an unknown

poet. It is composed of twelve lines and three stanzas. Each stanza is made of

four lines; a four-line stanza of poetry is called a quatrain.

A group of two lines is called a couplet. A three line stanza is a tercet.

A five line stanza is a quintet. Two other common lengths are a sestet, six

lines; and an octave, eight lines. A seven line stanza is known as a septet.

The poem under consideration can be read by both children (kids) and

adults (grown-ups), with varying degrees of accessibility and at different

levels of awareness. The poet has made clever use of puns. This stirs the

reader’s imagination and gives the poem a playful and lyrical touch.

Likewise, the poet uses interrogation as a rhetorical mode to get us to

think. The poem is punctuated with questions, which makes it both delightful

and reflective. The questions in the poem serve as riddles to solve. Riddles are

word puzzles that are wittily written. Some are easy to solve; others are hard

and yet fun to work out. Riddles, just like puns, create an intriguing effect.

The poem is rich in words with multiple meanings. Polysemy

contributes to the resonance of poetry and to the humor of double entendre.

2
 Reading Answer Key: (Please refer to your literature booklet)

In the first stanza, the poet jokes about stockings. The reference to

“pairs” is a cue that is intended to help us distinguish between the watering

tube and the stockings, as both terms mean “a hose.”

In the third stanza, the poet refers to plot—not as part of a garden—but

as the intricate part of a narrative.

What point is the poet trying to get across? The poet has provided a

diverse palette of words in English that have multiple meanings. He is asking

a series of questions that require accurate answers from the smart reader.

Each line in this poem is inviting us to think about a wide spectrum of

possibilities and figure out the exact meaning. This approach is at once

challenging, thought-provoking and amusing. It engages the reader both

intellectually and artistically in the same way ancient oracular inquiries did.

Check it Out!

1. The rhyme scheme for this poem is: AABB CCDD EEFF. The poet

uses this scheme by rhyming the last words of every two lines. To put it

simply, the lines 1-2 of each stanza use the same rhyme, and 3-4 use

another one. Is that right? If not, what is your suggested answer?

2. This poem uses powerful visual imagery. Is this statement true or false?

Explain and give supporting evidence from the text.

3
English Studies
Introduction to Literature (S4/G1)
Pr. Majdoubi

DRAMA (LITERATURE) AND THEATRE (ARTS)

What is the difference between drama and theatre? The word

“theatre” comes from the Greek theatron, literally “seeing place.”

Drama comes from the Greek dran, literally “to do.” It is a completed

action. The Greeks referred to the theatre as theatron while the Romans

called it auditorium, that is, “a place where something is heard.”

Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, defined drama as imitation

(mimesis) of human action (praxis) in his Poetics. Thus conceived, the

theatre imitates life and gives a sharpened view of the world it mirrors.

The terms “theatre” and “drama” are used interchangeably, but

need to be separated. Theatre refers to the structure where performances

are held and to the actors who enact them on the stage before a public.

Drama refers to the literary text, to the script itself, but also to the

dramatic literature of a given period: “Ancient Drama,” Medieval

Drama,” “Elizabethan Drama,” “Modern Drama,” etc. Theatre is the final

production, that is, all the elements which combine to flesh the play out.

1
Likewise, theatre refers to the staging team that produces plays. In short,

theatre is the play’s stage version, whereas drama is the page version.

Theatre, as all performing arts (ballet, circus, halqa, furusiyya,

opera, puppetry, mime, ventriloquism, etc.) is condensed in time and

space. The dramatic text is recorded in writing and is hence permanent,

while theatre is an ephemeral live happening. Being enacted in the here

and now, theatre unifies the past and the future in an eternal present.

The earliest origins of theatre are to be found in ancient religious

ceremonies. Western Theatre descended from the Greek festival of

Dionysus, the god of fertility in the Greek Pantheon. Ancient Greeks

established the categories of tragedy and comedy that still apply today.

Playwrights depict the real world with a specific purpose in mind.

Theatre is meant to enthrall, divert and ennoble by representing. It thus

brings viewers closer to an understanding of a shared human condition.

Dramatic characters are constructed by their language which

contributes to scene and mood. Playwrights often distinguish their

characters with “diction,” or peculiar ways of speaking. In drama diction

can imply manners, convey action, identify themes, and suggest values.

Actors on stage express themselves through pantomime, dialogue

and action. Beyond dialogues, there are basically three types of speeches

2
in drama: Asides, soliloquies, and monologues. An aside is a short

comment directly delivered by an actor, but not supposed to be

overheard by the other characters on the stage. Shakespeare’s great

tragedy, Othello, is filled with “asides” whereby Iago the villain voices

his inner thoughts to the audience. A Soliloquy is directly expressed by

a character, alone on the stage, to the audience. A soliloquy is thus meant

to be heard by the spectators but not by the other characters, as opposed

to a monologue which addresses someone who does not respond.

Narrative voices are not recurrent in modern drama which is based

on dialogue. They may be integrated into plays to provide background

details about the setting, characters, or themes. Modern narrators are

somehow equivalent to the ancient Greek chorus. An example of

narration can be found in Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie.

Well-made, realistic plays, such as those written by Norwegian

playwright Henrik Ibsen, have a plot that possesses organic wholeness.

Dramatic conflict, whether explicit or implicit, lies at the heart of drama.

Drama tells a story about characters at odds with themselves or

with their surroundings. They defend contrasting values. Drama builds

up tensions and steadily disentangles them before viewers. Theatre hence

weaves and unravels complicated knots, as no other literary medium

does. Dramatic tensions heighten expectations and increase suspense.

3
English Studies
Introduction to Literature (S4/G1)
Pr. Majdoubi

The Rocking Chair is a one-act, or even ten-minute, play in three

scenes. It revolves around three characters: Cara (a twelve-year-old girl),

Grandpa (Cara’s grandfather), and Grandma (Cara’s grandmother).

A rocking chair is a chair that is built on two curved pieces of wood so

that it swings backwards and forwards. Symbolically, the title of the play

suggests an oscillating movement and a recurring action.

Cara, the protagonist, thought of doing something pleasant. Yet

Grandpa suggested that she make herself more useful. So, they decided to fix

a rundown rocker for Grandma. Cara welcomed the joint work that eventually

thrilled Grandma. The drama is deceptively simple, and yet, the relevance of

it lies in its structured nature; it is plotted with impeccable causality.

Events are well-constructed and arranged in their order of occurrence:

CHARACTER ➔ DESIRE➔ OBSTACLE ➔ RESOLUTION ➔ UPSHOT

The rocking chair is a key element in this drama. It is described in the

introductory stage direction of Scene 1 thusly: “The curtain opens, showing

the back of a house. An old rocking chair sits on the back porch.”

1
 The rocking chair is likewise present in Samuel Beckett’s play,

Rockaby1, where a woman is confined to a wooden rocking chair until the

end of the play. No other scenery or stage property (props) is called for. The

swinging chair “motion creates a ghostly atmosphere.” The notes portray the

woman as “prematurely old” with “unkempt grey hair.” The title of Beckett’s

play has connotations of a lullaby, thereby evoking a pacifying baby cradle.

To get back to our play, The Rocking Chair, the unknown dramatist

has artfully juxtaposed the consecutive cycles of birth and death by depicting

the elderly couple and their granddaughter. Moreover, he has illustrated the

existential monotony by playing upon the rhythmic variations of the rocking

chair. This object has thus a dramatic function as the instigator of movement.

The rhythm of words intertwines with the swaying of the chair which

gives the play its aesthetic appeal and poetic value. This highlights that

poeticity, literariness and theatricality can interweave in works of art.

The unnamed characters in the play may well stand for their own

generation, thereby acquiring a universal dimension. An exception is made

for the considerate Cara whose very name signifies beloved in Latin. Cara was

planning to replace her grandmother’s worn-out chair, but her grandfather

persuaded her to fix it instead. The underlying message, or the play’s major

theme, could be as follows: Industrialized items shall never beat

craftsmen’s handmade products, and youth shall never beat old age.

1 Samuel Beckett, Collected Shorter Plays of Samuel Beckett (London: Faber and Faber, 1984).
2
 Cultural Imperialism

Imperialism refers to the creation and maintenace of unequal relationships

between civilizations, favoring the more powerful ones. Cultural imperialism
can be defined as the practice of promoting and imposing a culture, usually of
politically powerful nations over less potent societies. It is the cultural
hegemony of those industrialized or economically influetial countries, which
determine general cultural values and standardize civilizations throughout the
world.

Many of today’s academics that employ the term, cultural imperialism, are
heavily informed by the work Antonio Gramsci, Michel Foucault, Jacques
Derrida, Edward Said and other poststructuralist and postcolonialist
theorists.Within the realm of postcolonial discourse, cultural imperialism can be
seen as the cultural legacy of colonialism, or forms of social action contributing
to the continuation of Western hegemony.

When dealing with cultural imperialism, focus is often put on the proliferation
of Western moral concepts, products and beliefs around the globe. The United
States are now currently the only cultural imperialists, but, today, as aglobal
economic and political super power, the spread of American values in the entire
world is at the leading stage of the wave of spread of Western goods and
consumerist culture.

Others, on the contrary, consider this American cultrual hegemony as a threat.

Indeed, they may be positively helping countries, but these benefits inevitably
come at the cost of hurting local markets and local cultures. While traditional
cultural values are progressively being wiped away, critics argue, the world, is
increasingly stepping towards a process of cultural synchronization in which a
common global culture based on imperialist societies is becoming more evident.
This cultural uniformity would predictably lead to the extinction of cultures and
make the world less culturally rich and diverse.

Of all the areas of the world that scholars have claimed to be adversely affected
by imperialism, Africa is probably the most notable. In the expansive « age of
imperialism » of the nineteenth century, scholars have argued that European
colonization in Africa has led to the elimination of many various cultures,
worldviews, and epistemologies. This, arguably has led to uneven development,
and further informal forms of social control having to do with culture and
imperialism. A variety of factors, scholars argue, led to the elimination of
cultures, worldviews and epistemologies, such as « de-linguicization »
(replacing native African languages with European ones) and devaluing
ontologies that are not explicitly individualistic. One scholar, A. A. Odbi, claims
that imperialism inherently « involve(s) extensively interactive regimes and
heavy contexts of identity formation, misrecognition, loss of self-esteem, and
individual and social doubt in self-efficacy ».

Cultural Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s own culture is superior to that of other
cultures. It is a form of reductionism that reduces the « other way » of life to a
distorted version of one’s own. This is particularly important in case of global
dealings when a company or an individual is imbued with the idea that methods,
materials, or ideas that worked in the home country, will also work abroad.
Environmental differences are, therefore, ignored.

Cultural Relativism

Different cultural groups think, feel and act differently. There are no scientific
standards for considering one group as intrinsically superior or inferior to
another. Studying differences in culture among groups and societies presupposes
a position of cultural relativism. It does not imply normalcy for oneself, nor for
one’s society. It, however, calls for judgment when dealing with groups or
societies different from one’s own. Information about the nature of cultural
differences between societies, their roots, and their consequences should precede
judgment and action. Negotiation is more likely to succeed when the parties
concerned understand the reasons for the differences in viewpoints.

Discussion

After reading this piece I would like you to reflect on the following points.

1- What is cultural imperialsm ?

2- What are the motivations behind cultural domination ?
3- What makes a culture more powerful ?
4- How could local cultures promote their originality and difference in
relation to the foreign ones ?
5- Feel free to express your opinion, attitude, criticism concerning any point
related to the text.

Research

- Using the dictionary on Cultural studies or any other source, I would

like you to write and develop definitions of the following terms related
to the text :
- Imperialism
- Colonialism
- Ethnocentrism
- Orientalism
- Hegemony
- Hybridity

Good Luck. Stay Safe.

 Culture Shock

Saying Tamara Blackmore experienced culture shock when she

arrived here last September is an understatement. It was more
like culture trauma for this adventurous student who left
Melbourne’s Monash University to spend her junior year at
Boston College (BC). Blackmore, 20, was joined at BC by 50
other exchange students from around the world. Like the
thousands of exchange students who enroll in American colleges
each year, Blackmore discovered firsthand there is a sea of
difference between reading about and experiencing America
firsthand. She felt the difference as soon as she stepped off the
plane.

As soon as she landed in Boston, Blackmore could feel the

tension in the air. She was about to taste a lifesyle far more hectic
than the one she left. « Driving in Boston is crazy, » says
Blackmore. « It took me a while to get used to the roads and the
driving style here. I was always afraid someone was going to hit
me. It was particularly tricky since the steering wheel was on the
wrong side of the car. In Australia, it’s on the right side. »
Beyond the cars and traffic jams, Blackmore said it took a while
to get used to so many people in one place, all of whom seemed
like they were moving at wrap speed.

« There are only 18 million people in Australia spread out over

an entire country, » she says, « compared to more than six
million people in the state of Massachusetts alone. We don’t have
the kind of congestion you have in Boston. There is a whole
different perception of space. »

The pressing problem for Blackmore was making a quick

adjustment to the American lifestyle that felt like it was run by a
stopwatch. For this easygoing Australian, Americans seemed like
perpetual-motion machines. « Americans are very time-
oriented, » Blackmore says. « Everything is done according to a
schedule. They’re always busy, which made me feel guilty about
wanting to just sit around and occasionally watch television.
Australians, on the other hand, value their leisure time. The pace
there is a lot slower because we don’t feel the need to always be
busy. It’s not that Australians are lazy, it’s just that they have a
different concept of how time should be spent. Back home, I used
to spend a lot more time just talking to my friends. »

It didn’t take long for Blackmore to adjust to American

rhythms. « I felt the pressure to work harder and do more because
everyone was running around doing so much, » she says. When
BC students weren’t huddled over books, Blackmore found it
odd that they were compulsively jogging, running, biking, or
doing aerobics in order to be thin. « Compared to home, the girls
here are very skinny, » she says. « Before I got here, I heard a lot
of stories about the pressure to be thin and that many young
American women have eating disorders. I’ll go out with a friend
and just tuck into a good meal and have a good time, whereas an
American girl would just pick at her food. »

When it comes to drinking, Blackmore says Australians have a

lot more freedom. « We’ re more casual about drinking at
home, » she says, « whereas there are many rules and regulations
attached to when and where you can drink in the United States, »
not to mention a lagal drinking age of 21 compared with
Australians’ legal drinking age of 18.

But it’s BC’s laid-back and friendly learning environment that

setes it apart from her Melbourne college experience. « Generally
speaking, learning facilities are a lot better in Boston, » she says.
« In Australia, students and teachers have little contact outside
the classroom. It’s a formal and depersonalized relationship.
College is a place you go for a few hours every day and then go
home. Your social life and school life are separate. »
 It’s just the opposite at BC, according to Blackmore. « BC
students and faculty are like one big happy family, » she says.
« There is a real sense of team spirit. It’s like we’re all in this
together. Going to school here is a lifestyle, whereas at home
we’re just a number. We attend school to get a degree so we can
graduate, get a job, and get on with our lives. »

By Bob Weinstein

From The Boston Globe

After reading this text, I would like you to reflect on the

following points.

1- How does the text introduce cultural shock ?

2- What are the elements that constitute cultural shock ?
3- How does Blackmore experience cultural shock ?
4- What is the best way to cope with cultural shock ?
5- Imagine Blackmore in Morocco spending one year, how
would she experience the cultrual shock ?
The aim of this chapter is to introduce you to the ways a foreigner
views the local and different cultures. In other words, it focuses on
the type of representation a foreigner produces about a different
culture and how his own culture is projected in his judgement of the
others. Many foreign writers have managed to produce pieces of
sociological, ethnographic and literary writings on aspects of
Moroccan culture. Here are two sample passages which I would like
you to read and to which I would like you to react, following the
questions raised. In the first, Raphael Chijioke Njoku describes some
aspects of these customs and lifestyle in Morocco. In the second,
Tahir Shah tells us about a different experience he had in his book A
Year in Casablanca.

Social Customs and Lifestyle

Amid a plurality of social customs and practices in Morocco are

festivities that commemorate family events such as the birth of a
child, circumcision, marriage, death, and the return of a member
from a pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj). Major religious festivals and
holidays include events marking the birth of Muhammad, the holy
Prophet of God (or Eid el Mouloud), the end of Ramadan (Eid el-
Seghir or Eid el Fitr), and Abraham's sacrifice of a sheep to God
instead of his son (Eid el Kebir). Others are occasions that renew
community bonds, sports and musical competitions, and
commemorations of national unity such as Independence Day and
Green March Day. Cultural lifestyles mirror the resilience of
indigenous occupational practices and culture as well as emergent
Western types of lifestyles rooted in the modern economy.
Traditionally, Moroccans are gregarious, and friendships are
best attested to in the existence of a diverse and pervading sense of
religious and familial brotherhood. Dramatic salutations such as
hugs, kisses, and prolonged handshakes are manners through which
people express their sense of hospitality and feelings. A visitor to the
traditional open markets in Morocco may find the atmosphere
charged with varied forms of activities and excitement—intellectual,
sporting, and religious discussions, catcalls, commercial haggling,
gossip and laughter, music of singers and dancers, intersections of
prayers, chanting by magicians, acrobats, storytellers, snake
charmers, circus monkeys, and frequent shouts of ceremonial
greetings or obeisance (ahlan wa sahlan or assalaam). These aspects
of customs and lifestyles reflect the diversity of the social setting and
extensive knowledge of the people about their society and the world
around them. It is common to find Moroccans who consistently
follow events around the world via the various modern channels of
communication, including the radio, newspaper, television, cable
networks, and Internet media. Generally, school children in Africa,
including Morocco, are taught more about the wider world than are
their counterparts in the United States.
Social and group (jama a) interaction is important whether as
part of a religious, political, or cultural community. Generally,
individualism gives way to family and community interests. Social
gatherings are celebrated in a variety of ways within at least the
minimum standards acceptable in Islam. Whatever their background,
Muslims, Jews, Christians, Arabs, Berbers, Africans, Europeans, and
other groups in the country celebrate events with family, friends, and
acquaintances. On such occasions, the hosts demonstrate their
generosity with the provision of food, beverages, and music.
SOCIAL RELATIONS
Interpersonal relations follow a code of behavior that places
emphasis on respect or dignity (karama), generosity (karim), honor
(sharaf), sharing, and hospitality. Religious customs are of the
utmost importance and influence day-to-day life. Ideally, the
expectations of good morals and ethical standards of honesty are
considered integral parts of interpersonal relationships. Due in part to
the Muslim practice of feeling great responsibility for guests, the
scarce resources of the desert environment, as well as the
extraordinary respect of indigenous Africans for strangers,
hospitality is so high in all regions of Morocco that it has become a
central part of society. It is common for the country folk to invite
strangers and acquaintances to their homes for lunch or dinner. At
such occasions, the visitor is offered choice items such as meat and
other delicacies that are not part of the family's everyday menu. If the
stranger is a man, he should not expect the women of the house to
join the males at the table, and the visitor is expected not to ask why.
The visitor should not use the left hand to eat because that is
considered offensive in the culture. In both Islamic and African
cultures, the left hand is reserved for handling things considered
unclean. Usually, meals are served at home from a communal plate.
It is polite for visitors to take only what is immediately in front of
them and to accept all that is offered.

(From: Culture and Customs of Morocco by Raphael Chijioke

Njoku)
1- The excerpt is extracted from Culture and Customs of Morocco, first
published in 2006. Does it reflect the truth about Moroccan culture
and customs? Could you justify your answer.
2- Do you agree with the aspects described? Which ones do you
disapprove of?
3- How would you receive the view of the other writing about your
local customs?
4- Would a Moroccan writer produce a similar text or a different one?
Explain.
5- To what extent is the presentation of an outsider reliable or valid
enough in showing the truth about aspects of Moroccan culture? Is
the writer’s description precise or is fraught with generalizations?
 II

The longer I spent in Morocco, the more I found that explanations were rarely
given. If anything at all was said, it was to pass the blame onto someone or
something else. The cook was an expert at it. Every week she smashed a variety
of serving dishes and plates. The first time she broke a china teapot, she blamed
the soap on the hands – it was bad quality, she said, more slippery than usual.
When she smashed a new earthenware tagine, she blamed me for buying such an
inferior one. And, after that, when she dropped a glass vase, she said it was the
jinns.

In the West, we try to work out a logical cause when an accident occurs. The
vase breaks because it’s knocked by a careless hand. The car crashes because the
road is wet. The dog bites a child because it’s savage and a danger to honest
society. But I found in Morocco that these everyday mishaps were treated in a
very different way. They were frequently put down to the work of supernatural
forces, with the jinns at the centre of the belief system.

Although I was intrigued by the idea of invisible spirits and their parallel world,
I found myself cursing them every day. They were a back door by which all
blame could be neatly side- stepped, shifted onto someone else. The guardians
had mastered the technique of using jinns to blame-shifts. They lived in a world
in which any blunder – from chopping down the wrong tree to setting fire to the
lawn-mower – could be instantly brushed aside. The explanation was always the
same: ‘It was not my fault. It was the work of the jinns.’

At last when Kamal finally arrived, I launched into a scathing attack on the
supernatural as a method of shifting blame. I couldn’t control myself.

‘There’s no way Morocco will progress,’ I said accusingly, ‘until people lose the
superstitious thought. It’s crippling them’

Kamal didn’t reply until my storm of anger had passed. Then, after a long gap in
the conversation, he said: ‘The jinns are at the heart of Moroccan culture.
Pretending they don’t exist won’t help you.’

‘You lived in the United States,’ I said. ‘You are a modern guy. Don’t tell me
you believe in jinns.’

‘Of course I do,’ he said. ‘They’re the backbone of our cultures. They are part of
the Islamic faith.’
At that moment it seemed to me as if the jinns were in league with the fanatics –
both sideshows to the genuine message. The encounter with Pete was still fresh
in my mind. I told Kamal what I had seen.

‘He was brainwashed,’ I said. ‘He’s a fanatic, for God’s sake.’

‘That’s not real Islam,’ Kamal replied. ‘It’s a hoax, an illusion. It’s anarchy.’

‘Well, Islamic anarchy is how the West sees the Arab world.’

Kamal bit his lower lip. His expression was cold. ‘You don’t know what it’s like
to enter the United States with a passport covered in Arabic writing,’ he said.
‘One look at it and the flags go up. They’re thinking “terrorist”. There’s nothing
you can say. You can just pray they’ll let you in.’

‘But how do you expect the Americans to behave after 9/ 11?’

‘With suspicion of course,’ he replied. ‘But not with hatred against all Muslims.’

Kamal was right. Of course only a fraction of Muslims are fanatics. But their
voices are loud and getting louder all the time. Worse still, their actions speak
far louder than their words. Every morning before breakfast I would check the
news on the Internet. My great fear was seeing the word ‘Morocco’ for the
wrong reasons. The Casablanca bombings earlier in the year had been a terrible
reminder that Islamic extremism was spreading like wildfire.

(Tahir Shah, The Caliph’s House. A Year in Casablanca, pp. 172- 175)

1-What view does the writer provide to describe a certain type of Moroccan
behavior? Do you agree with the writer? Does he exaggerate? Does he
generalize?

2-Do you think the writer tells the truth or is his attitude biased as a result of his
Western-based type of education?

3-Do you accept Kamal’s attitude and Opinion? Justify your answer.

7-Stereotyping. The text shows that being a Muslim or an Arab has become a
real psychological trauma in the aftermath of 9/11. How could we resolve such a
cultural, psychological and political handicap?
 8-The writer deals with cultural issues in an area, Casablanca, where he spent
one year (A Year in Casablanca). A series of inquiries are to be raised:

a- Is his view reliable? Why? Why not?

b- How would a non-Moroccan reader perceive his description?
c- What would a Moroccan reader learn from such a writer who works as a camera-
like eye, watching us as foreigners?
d- How would his extended stay in the country and meeting with other Moroccans
from different regions coerce or change his opinion, attitude and judgement?
Announcement I

From Prof. Hassan Zrizi

To : S4 Students. (Introduction to Cultural Studies)

Hello everybody. As we are obliged to be off class, I would like you to keep
reading, taking notes and feeding your knowledge on issues related to cultural
studies. This introductory course is meant to initiate you to different aspects
related to the area of cultural studies, which is vast, varied and complex, and I
would like you to be familiar with the terminology and the concepts often used
in this area: culture diversity, multiculturalism, interculturalism, cultural
imperialism, hegemony, hybridity, identity, diaspora, norms and values.... I
hereby send you a dictionary which could be of help as it introduces you to
some of these after which you can do some research. When we are back, you are
welcome to give presentations on any aspect you could choose. Please do share
with your colleagues. Good luck.
Announcement II

From Prof. Hassan Zrizi

To :S4 Students (Intro to Cultural Studies)

I hope everybody is going through these hard times unharmed.

I already sent you a copy of the Dictionary Cultural Studies. I already stated the
incentives asking you to go through some key concepts and to elaborate them
through some research. Presentations are highly welcome when we are back to
school. Now I am sending this piece on Multiculturalism, an important issue in
cultural studies. I would like you to read it carefully, use the dictionary when
necessary, and I would like you to reflect on the following :

1- What is your immediate reaction after reading the document ?

2- What is the tone of the text ? Could you elaborate ?
3- What do think of the writer ? Is he realist ? an idealist ? a dreamer ? a
futurist ? try to justify
4- Through multiculturalism, the writer is imagining an ideal society, is it
possible ? if not what are the impediments that would block the
establishment of such a society ?
5- The writer is dealing with the United States of America as a model for
multiculturalism. Does he criticise such a model ? Does he praise it ?
6- Is such a model applicable to other countries ? Why ? Why not ?
7- I would like you to reflect on the issue of multiculturalism in Morocco for
future discussion. I also encourage you for a future presentation

What is multiculturalism ?
The concept of multiculturalism embodies a new orientation toward the future.
Unfortunately, in all the heated discussion around the term no clear definition of
the concept has yet emerged. People are thus left to read into the term whatever
their biases and self interests dictate. Let me put forth an operational definition
of multiculturalism as a starting point to better clarify our human interactions.

Multiculturalism is a system of beliefs and behaviors that recognizes and respcts

the presence of all diverse groups in an organization or society, acknowledges
and values their socio-cultural differences, and encourages and enables their
continued contribution within an inclusive cultural context which empowers all
within the organization or society.

Let’s take it apart. There are the four pairs of action phrases that give substance
to the definition : « beliefs and behaviors », « recognizes and respects »,
« acknowledges and values », « encourages and enables », and a fifth one,
« empowers ». Multiculturalism is a « system », a set of interrelated parts- in
this case beliefs and behaviors- which make up the whole of humans experience
today’s world. It includes what people believe about others, their basic
paradigms, and how this impact, and areimpacte by, behavior. The outcome of
this framework of beliefs/ behaviors are seven important actions.

The first is recognition of the rich diversity in a given society or organization.

For the longest time racial/ ethnic minorities, the physically disabled, and
women have not been given the same recognition as others. The one-sided
approach to history and education has been a testimony to that fact.

With recognition should also come respect. Respect and recognition are not the
same, since recognizing the existence of a group does not necessarily elicit
respect for the group. In a slave economy, for example, the presence of slaves
was recognized but their humanity was not respected. For example, in the
United States of America, the presence of American Indians in the Western
expansion of the continent was constantly recognized by whites, but their
environmentally conscious cultures were never respected. The contribution of
women has usually been relegated to a footnote status. Many nations have a long
history of not respecting the rights of the powerless.

Multiculturalism also entails acknowledging the validity of the cultural

expressions and contributions of the various groups. This is not to imply that all
cultural contributions are of equal value and social worth, or that all should be
tolerated. Some cultural practices are better than others for the overall
betterment of society. These cultural expressions and contributions that differ
from those of the dominant group in society are usually only acknowledged
when there is an economic market for them, such as music for African-
American, native Indian dances for tourism or cuisine from India. When the
business sector wants our money, the advertising industry pictures people of
color in a positive light. But in most other cases the entertainment media simply
caricatures minority stereotypes, such as women usually in supportive roles.
Multiculturalism thus means valuing what people have to offer, and not
rejecting or belittling it simply because it differs from what the majority, or
those in power, regard as important and of value.

Multiculturalism will also enourage and enable the contribution of the various
groups to society or an organization. Women and persons of color, for example,
often experience discouragement because what they bring to the « table » for
discussion is often regarded as of little value or worth. Not everyting can be
utulized, however, nor is of the same worth and value. But it does have value,
even if for no other reason than the effort invested in bringing it forward. Such
efforts must be encouraged, for who knows from where the next great idea may
come- from youth, from an elderly person, from an african American, from a
single parent, from a high school drop out, from a business executive, etc. ? The
word enable here is important, because what lies behind it is the concept of
empowerment- the process of enabling people to be self-critical of their own
biases so as to strengthen themselves and others to achieve and deploy their
maximum potential. People’s sense of self-worth, value and dignity is most
often determined not only by the kind of support and encouragement they
receive from others, but also from how willing they are to self-examine negative
behaviors in their own life and in their cultural group. If I or my group is
practicing self-destructive action, all the external help will go for naught.

The essence of multiculturalism, the undergirding concept of multicultural

education, is the ability to celebrate with the other in a manner that transcends
all barriers and brings about a unity in diversity. Multiculturalisme nables us to
look upon the Other, especially the Other that society has taught us to regard
with distrust and suspicion, and to be taken advantage of, not as a «potential
predator, but as a profitable partner ».
 Why Genital Cutting Goes ON ?
Little is known and less understood about female genital cutting
(FGC) ; the few published studies of the practice tends to deal with small
samples observed over a short period. In half of the 30 or so countries
where FGC is practised, it has never been studied at all. It is thought that in
Africa and parts of Asia 2 million women are « circumcised » each year ;
the figure of between 130 million and 160 million circumcised women at
present living on the planet is purely conjectural.

Although 19th century anthropologists knew of the galaxy of

practices loosely called « female circumcision » and discussed them in
elaborate detail, the matter was not raised in an international forum until
1975, when the Australian delegation at the first U.N. conference on
women in Mexico city proposed a motion condemning it, which I helped
draft. To our surprise the African delegates did not fall on our necks and
thank us for taking upon ourselves the defense of their genitals. We
thought of FGC as an outrage enacted on babies and girls, an expression
of sheer misogeny. We labeled it female genital mutilation, though we had
very little idea who cut what. The change in labelling from FGM to FGC
might indicate that the international community is retreating from its
blanket condemnation of any modification of female genitals, but all U.N.
agencies still resolutely denounce it as an infringement of women’s rights
and the rights of the child. Signatories of the U.N. Declaration on the
Elimination of Violence against women are required to show that they are
taking steps to eradicate FGC. After a quarter century of indifference, the
popular media in the United States have begun crusading on the issue.
 We have no ideas how many babies, girls and young women die as a
consequence of FGC. Though we are told that fatalities ensue because the
operations are carried out by untrained old women with defective eyesight
using clumsy and dirty insruments, most countries bar accredited medical
establishments and personnel from carrying out the procedures. Indeed, the
sole effect of passing laws against FGC in Sudan and Kenya has been that
health professionals may not be involved. In Britain an obstetrician
delivering an infibulated woman is forbidden by the Prohibition of Female
Circumcision Act of 1985 to close her up again after the birth, if she values
her « closed » status, as many such women do, she has no option but to
find a member of her own community to resuture her. After more than a
hundered years of pressure by missionaries and colonial authorities to
outlaw FGC, procedures are likely to be more dangerous now than they
were when traditional mores were relatively undisturbed. FGC is now
being carried out as an initiation rite for adult women entering ethnic
liberation groups, a role which it did not play before the colonial powers
began their drive to extirpate it. Male leaders are intersting themselves in
this women’s business and redefining it according to their own priorities.
African women seeking asylum will be granted refugee status on the
grounds that their countrymen are threatening them with FGC.

We may suspect, from the multiplicity of forms of FGC- ranging

from nicking the hood of the clitoris together with the libia minora and the
ablation of the labia majora to create raw edges that are then sewn together
(infibulation, the severest or « pharaonic » form)- that FGC serves different
purposes in different communities and cultures. In Ethiopia, Djibouti and
Somalia virtually all women, in Muslim, Christian and even Jewish
communities, have endured some form of FGC. A London surgeon found
to his surprise that in 43 out of 45 infibulated Somali patients the clitoris
had not been removed. Conversely many infibulated women who suffered
clitoridectomy will vividly describe their own intense sexual pleasure. Yet
the commonest explanation of FGC is that, though carried out by women,
it was devised by men to control women’s rampant sexual desire. Suffice
it to say that sexual pleasure is notoriously protean (remember the G spot),
and the nerve clusters that end in the clitoris (as yet very poorly
understood) have ramifications deep in the abdomen and elsewhere.

The women who inflict FGC on their daughters have only relatively
recently been asked by female anthroplogists to describe what they are
doing. Such explanations are usually dismissed by nonanthrpologists as
primitive superstition and misinformation, though in their own terms they
make sense. FGC can function as any combination of witnessed ordeal,
rite of passage, cosmetic operation, feminine hygiene or sacred ritual.
When FGC has outlived its cultural value it will disappear as long as the
world elite remains fascinated by FGC, and reinforces their feelings of
superiority by demonizing it, this dangerous, painful and destructive
practice will continue and could even spread….

By Germaine Greer

Newsweek, July 5, 1999.

- We dealt with cultural diversity and saw the important components

on which it based, but sometimes some local cultural practices and
rituals (rites) are dangerous as they bring harm to a category of
people. Female Genital Cutting is an example. I would like you to
 read this text and feel free to react to the questions I raise. Any
additional remark or opinion is highly appreciated.

I- Questions

1- Why is Female Genital Cutting not well-known ?

2- How did the international agencies consider such a practice ?
3- Why were the measures taken to ban female genital cutting
unsuccessful ?
4- What are the future prospects of such a practice ?
5- What is the tone of the text and what is the attitude of the writer
towards such a practice ?
6- In your opinion, what practical steps should be followed to ban this
phenomenon ?

II- Discussion

Discuss the following points and think of other questions related to ritual
practices in Morocco.
1- What roles do women have in your country ?
2- How do cultural practices help or impede women’s liberation ?
3- What other ritual practices do women suffer from ?
4- How is male circumcision similar to or different from female genital
cutting ?
5- Do women themselves support such rituals or do they oppose them ?
6- In Morocco, which social and cultural practices do women still suffer
from most ? Why ?
7- What social and psychological impacts do these rituals have on
women, in particular, and on family life, in general ?
 Cultural Imperialism

Imperialism refers to the creation and maintenace of unequal relationships

between civilizations, favoring the more powerful ones. Cultural imperialism
can be defined as the practice of promoting and imposing a culture, usually of
politically powerful nations over less potent societies. It is the cultural
hegemony of those industrialized or economically influetial countries, which
determine general cultural values and standardize civilizations throughout the
world.

Many of today’s academics that employ the term, cultural imperialism, are
heavily informed by the work Antonio Gramsci, Michel Foucault, Jacques
Derrida, Edward Said and other poststructuralist and postcolonialist
theorists.Within the realm of postcolonial discourse, cultural imperialism can be
seen as the cultural legacy of colonialism, or forms of social action contributing
to the continuation of Western hegemony.

When dealing with cultural imperialism, focus is often put on the proliferation
of Western moral concepts, products and beliefs around the globe. The United
States are now currently the only cultural imperialists, but, today, as aglobal
economic and political super power, the spread of American values in the entire
world is at the leading stage of the wave of spread of Western goods and
consumerist culture.

Others, on the contrary, consider this American cultrual hegemony as a threat.

Indeed, they may be positively helping countries, but these benefits inevitably
come at the cost of hurting local markets and local cultures. While traditional
cultural values are progressively being wiped away, critics argue, the world, is
increasingly stepping towards a process of cultural synchronization in which a
common global culture based on imperialist societies is becoming more evident.
This cultural uniformity would predictably lead to the extinction of cultures and
make the world less culturally rich and diverse.

Of all the areas of the world that scholars have claimed to be adversely affected
by imperialism, Africa is probably the most notable. In the expansive « age of
imperialism » of the nineteenth century, scholars have argued that European
colonization in Africa has led to the elimination of many various cultures,
worldviews, and epistemologies. This, arguably has led to uneven development,
and further informal forms of social control having to do with culture and
imperialism. A variety of factors, scholars argue, led to the elimination of
cultures, worldviews and epistemologies, such as « de-linguicization »
(replacing native African languages with European ones) and devaluing
ontologies that are not explicitly individualistic. One scholar, A. A. Odbi, claims
that imperialism inherently « involve(s) extensively interactive regimes and
heavy contexts of identity formation, misrecognition, loss of self-esteem, and
individual and social doubt in self-efficacy ».

Cultural Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s own culture is superior to that of other
cultures. It is a form of reductionism that reduces the « other way » of life to a
distorted version of one’s own. This is particularly important in case of global
dealings when a company or an individual is imbued with the idea that methods,
materials, or ideas that worked in the home country, will also work abroad.
Environmental differences are, therefore, ignored.

Cultural Relativism

Different cultural groups think, feel and act differently. There are no scientific
standards for considering one group as intrinsically superior or inferior to
another. Studying differences in culture among groups and societies presupposes
a position of cultural relativism. It does not imply normalcy for oneself, nor for
one’s society. It, however, calls for judgment when dealing with groups or
societies different from one’s own. Information about the nature of cultural
differences between societies, their roots, and their consequences should precede
judgment and action. Negotiation is more likely to succeed when the parties
concerned understand the reasons for the differences in viewpoints.

Discussion

After reading this piece I would like you to reflect on the following points.

1- What is cultural imperialsm ?

2- What are the motivations behind cultural domination ?
3- What makes a culture more powerful ?
4- How could local cultures promote their originality and difference in
relation to the foreign ones ?
5- Feel free to express your opinion, attitude, criticism concerning any point
related to the text.

Research

- Using the dictionary on Cultural studies or any other source, I would

like you to write and develop definitions of the following terms related
to the text :
- Imperialism
- Colonialism
- Ethnocentrism
- Orientalism
- Hegemony
- Hybridity

Good Luck. Stay Safe.