Language and Culture

 The very question; ‘which came first, the chicken or the egg?’ could also apply to language and culture. If language is the main means whereby people conduct their daily business, social lives, and is used as the main communication tool, then the link between culture and language may be evident but quite complex. But before we try to answer the above question, let’s look at some aspects of language and culture which combine these together.

Have you ever thought about, or even been asked by a student in class, how to define what language is? We use it everyday, we know innately what it is, but to put words on it, to try to define and explain is actually quite a difficult thing to do, without being superficial or losing some meaning. Language has been described by some as a system of signs that come together to create meaning. Others have described it as a method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of a system of produced symbols. However, there is one thing which is evident when trying to define language and that is its importance and relevance to those who use it and how it is inextricably linked to culture.

Like language, culture too can be difficult to define. The image of an iceberg can help us have a better understanding of how deeply ingrained culture is. Culture characterises a certain group of people at a given time. On the face value, or the top of the iceberg, we can see aspects of culture such as food, clothing, sport, music, architecture and art, the thing we enjoy when we are on holiday. However, further down the iceberg - under the water mark – it becomes more complicated and we notice that there is so much more to consider: ideas, beliefs, skills, traditions, attitudes and values, as well as social interactions. Culture includes both the tangible and intangible products of a society.

So what is it that links culture and language together? Well to this we can say that both language and culture are learned or acquired. Both have patterns that change and are a universal fact of life, and both are part of our identity. Just as we acquire our first language, we too acquire our first culture. Also, just as we may chose to learn a second language, we can learn a second culture or develop intercultural awareness. However developing ones intercultural awareness can be a difficult thing to do. There are no rules to learn, no structures to apply and the process can vary from one individual to another. This can be a problem in the language classroom. As teachers, we teach a language, and therefore teach the culture of the language, but we also face the culture of the learners in our class, an aspect which cannot be ignored and which we cannot expect our learners to leave at the door for class time. Therefore having an understanding of the different stages a person goes through when developing their intercultural awareness can help us have more of an insight into our learners. It can also help us as teachers settle into the new ways of life we face when we take off around the world teaching English as a foreign language.

The five stages when developing intercultural awareness can be best described in a U-shaped curve (Hoang-Thu, 2010).

1. The honey moon stage – This is where the difference we see in other culture are exciting and attractive.
2. The disintegration stage – The novelties wear off at this stage and frustration or helplessness can take over.
3. The reintegration stage – At this point culture can be problematic. One can become defensive or not respond to the culture.
4. The autonomy stage – This is where we turn back up in the U. We start to develop a little perspective, opinions become balanced, objective, and start becoming more positive.
5. Finally we reach the interdependence stage – We adopt a new identity a bicultural or multicultural person.

Recognising these five stages can help us as teachers find our feet when taking on the responsibilities of travelling and teaching in other cultures. Moreover, it can also help us to understand our students and the uphill struggle they may be having, not only learning English as a foreign language, but also getting their heads around the culture of the language too.

So which does come first, the language or the culture? What are your opinions on this? Leave your comments below!

Reference

Hoang-Thu, T. 2010. 'Teaching culture in the EFL/ESL classroom', [Available online]  http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED511819&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED511819 [Accessed on 29/4/2013]

Paraphrasing

 In our blog today we are looking at the academic skill of paraphrasing. We start with a brief definition of what paraphrasing is, and then give examples of techniques we can use in our writing to improve our paraphrasing skills. 

What is paraphrasing?

Paraphrasing involves restating, in your own words, the original wording in a source. The restatement must include careful word choices that fit the context and tone of the original passage. When paraphrasing you may use some of the authors key terms, but they must be used in your own words and sentences. It is very important to use an in-text citation when you paraphrase to prevent plagiarism.

Why do we paraphrase?

It's very important to paraphrase so we do not plagiarise the work of others. Also paraphrasing shows that we understand the research we are reading, and that we have a good enough comprehension of the idea to put it into our own words.

How do we paraphrase?

There are many techniques to use when paraphrasing. To paraphrase effectively it is very important that we use as many of these techniques as possible in our writing. When we use these techniques, it's also very important that pay attention to our grammar and vocabulary accuracy. The techniques for paraphrasing are:

• Using synonyms
• Using definitions
• Changing word forms
• Changing voice
• Changing clauses and phrases
• Changing word order

Using Synonyms

Synonyms are words that have the same or a very similar meaning as another word. When paraphrasing we can use a synonym or synonymous phrase that may occur in the same context as the original word or phrase used in the source. Not only should it have the same meaning, but it should also have the same tone (level of formality) and contextual meaning as the original word or phrase. 

Original Sentence

Paraphrasing is hard to do without good examples.

Paraphrase

Paraphrasing is difficult / challenging / an ordeal if there are no effective examples to study.

Original Sentence

F5 tornadoes are very dangerous windstorms: as a result, people must seek shelter immediately.

Paraphrase

F5 tornadoes are such severe windstorms that people must find a safe place right away.

Original Sentence

The U.S. government declared that the AIDS crisis poses a national security threat. The announcement followed an intelligence report that found high rates of HIV infection could lead to widespread political destabilisation.

Paraphrase

The government of the United States announced that AIDS could harm the nation's security. The government warned the population after an important governmental study concluded that political problems could result from large numbers of people infected with HIV (Snell, 2005).

It is important when you are using synonyms that you use a good online dictionary resource or thesaurus such as the Oxford dictionary and Thesaurus.

Using Definitions

Another technique we can use when paraphrasing is using different definitions. For example,

Lyme disease is an inflammatory disease cause by a bacterium transmitted by ticks, small bloodsucking arachnids, that attach themselves to larger animals. The disease is usually characterised by a rash followed by flu-like symptoms including fever, joint pain and headache.

Lyme disease, a disease that causes swelling and redness, is caused by a bacterium carried by a small arachnid known as a tick. By attaching to and sucking the blood of animals and humans, the ticks transfer some of the Lyme disease bacterium into their hosts causing symptoms similar to the flu (Wald, 2005).

Changing Word Forms

Content words can be repeated in different forms in a paragraph. For example a noun phrase may be used in a sentence in a paragraph and then changed to an adjective phrase in a later sentence. Sentences which have certain structures, e.g. comparison or cause and effect, can be restated by changing the pattern of the structure around. This often involves converting verbs (and adjectives) to nouns (and vice versa).

Original sentence

In a tornadic storm, property is destroyed.

Paraphrase

A tornado causes destruction of property.

Original sentence

Hansen (2008) focuses on the way in which second-language pronunciation is acquired.

Paraphrase

Hansen (2008) focuses on the acquisition of second-language pronunciation.

You can also change numbers and percentages to different forms when you paraphrase.

Original text

Minority groups in the United States have been hit hardest by the epidemic. African Americans, who make up 13% of the U.S. population accounted for 46% of the Aids cases diagnosed in 1998.

Paraphrase

The Aids epidemic has mostly affected minorities in the United States. For example, in 1998 less than 15% of the total population was African, but almost half of the people diagnosed with AIDS in the United States that year were African American.

Changing word order

We can also change the word order to help us paraphrase effectively. This means we can move information from one part of the text to another.

Original text

Situations that create stress are as unique as you are. Your personality, genes and experience influence how you deal with stress.

Paraphrase

Stressful situations affect people differently. how you manage stress is determined by your personality characteristics, genetic makeup and life experiences.

The changes made are:

• situations that create stress = stressful situations (new word order and word forms)
• are as unique as you are = affect people differently (synonymous phrase, different kind of clause)
• how you deal with stress = how you manage stress (synonymous phrase, new word order)
• personality = personality characteristics (synonymous phrase)
• genes = genetic makeup (synonymous phrase)
• expreiences = life experiences (synonymous phrase)

Changing Voice

Forming passive verbs can help you with paraphrasing. However, be careful not to convert active verbs to passive verbs unless it is appropriate to do so. In general the active voice is preferred in writing because the focus of most academic writing is on the agent (the doer). However, sometimes it is appropriate to focus on what has been done rather than the doer. For example when describing a process or a methodology. The passive voice is often used in scientific, engineering or technical writing because assignments in these fields often require the focus to be on the receiver (object).

In the following example, the active voice is appropriate because the focus (good students) is also the agent. Using the passive voice would change the focus to the receiver (activities of good students), which could create problems with coherence in the writing.

Appropriate focus (active voice)

Good students participate in class activities, complete their assignments on time, and do exemplary work.
(The sentence is clearly focused on the topic of good students.)

Inappropriate focus (passive voice)

Class activities are participated in, assignments are completed and exemplary work is done [by the good students].

(Changing the focus from the agent to the receiver creates problems with expression. The sentence is awkward and does not address the topic of good students directly.)

Therefore before you change the voice of a sentence, keep in mind your focus and check if the use of the passive is preferred if the agent (doer) is unimportant, unknown, or understood from previous reference in the writing. For example,

The cocoons are sorted and soaked before the silk fibres are wound into reels. After this, the raw silk is shipped to factories where it is washed and dried.

Here the focus is on the process of manufacturing silk rather than on the workers. Therefore we find the passive voice.

Workers sort out and soak the cocoons before they wind the silk fibres onto reels. After this the workers ship the raw sill to factories where other workers wash and dry the silk.

Here the focus is on the workers. We are reporting on what the workers are doing rather than the work being done. Therefore, to keep the focus on the workers, we use the active voice. 

We can also use the passive voice if we don't want to use reporting verbs in our writing. For example,

Angier (2001) reported that malaria kills more than one million people annually, the overwhelming majority of them children in sub-Saharan Africa.

Every year more than a million people are killed by malaria, and most of the victims are children who live in sub-Saharan Africa (Angier, 2001).

Changing Clauses to Phrases

Another technique we use in paraphrasing is changing clauses to phrases. For example,

Original sentence

The flow of water back to the sea results from the precipitation of rain and its absorption by the soil.

Paraphrase

Because rain is precipitated and absorbed by the soil, water flows back to the sea.

The flow of water (noun phrase) = water flows (clause)

When changing clauses and phrases, it is important to think about sentence structure and how we use subordinators and co-ordinators. You can read more about these in our blog post on sentence structures.

Although only about one-tenth of the world's population lives there, sub-Saharan Africa remains the hardest hit region, accounting for 72% of the people infected with HIV during 2000.

Approximately 10% of the world's population resides in sub-Saharan Africa. However, this area of the world has the highest percentage of AIDS related illnesses. In fact, in 2000 almost three quarters of the population had the HIV virus (Bunting, 2004).

Use of Direct Quotation

Another technique to prevent plagiarism in your writing is the use of direct quotation. Direct quotation is when you copy the author's words exactly as they are written. You use quotation marks (" ") around the copied text and acknowledge the source with an in-text citation.

We only use a direct quotation when the author's exact words give your argument more credibility and/or present the information more succinctly than a paraphrase would. You should only use direct quotation once or twice in your writing and it's important note to quote factual material such as data or figures. If you find you are using direct quotation a lot in your writing, you will have issues with plagiarism.

Use of Indirect Quotation

Therefore, to overcome problems with plagiarism we use indirect quotation. An indirect quotation is when we paraphrase the original quotation, using one of more of the techniques above, and then source the information with an in-text citation. In an indirect quotation we do not use quotation marks but can use a reporting verb instead. For example,

Original sentence

"It's generally accepted that on-screen violence is harmful to children."

Paraphrase

According to Spock (1997), most people believe that TV and movie violence affects children adversely.

"Children - especially young children - will pattern themselves after violent behaviour just as readily as they imitate good behaviour. Watching violence has a desensitising and brutal affect on people - children and adults alike. It is likely that individuals brought up by kindly parents will at first be shocked and horrified when they see one person committing an act of violence against another. However if they continue to see violence regularly, they will gradually begin to take it for granted as standard human behaviour."

He maintains that the young children in particular are just as likely to imitate violent actions as they are nonviolent ones. Spock (1997) also states that people who watch too much violence will become less sensitive to it regardless of age. As he explains, when people who are from good families are first exposed to violence, their reaction is one of fright. However, the more violence they see, the less frightened they become. This violence becomes an everyday and accepted experience (ibid.)

*It is important to note that when using reporting verbs in indirect quotations, we use the verbs in the present tense even if the source was written a few years previously.

Things to Note to be a Good Paraphraser

• Always refer to the author (in-text citation) and the text (reference in reference list) whenever you paraphrase from a source.
• Do not say "I think ..." or use other wording to imply that an idea that came from a source is your own opinion or idea. Do not claim another author's ideas as your own even if you agree with the author.
• Research and take notes carefully. You should always write your notes in your own words, or use paraphrasing when note-taking. Make sure you keep accurate and correct information of the source of your notes to use in in-text citations, reference lists and bibliographies.
• If you copy anything word for word, use quotation marks and acknowledge the source.
• Be sure to maintain the original meaning of the text.
• Be accurate with your grammar and vocabulary to produce coherent writing.
• For longer texts, try to summarise the information in your own words without referring back to the text for language.
• Remember that you may not be able to paraphrase some key phrases, technical words or proper nouns. Therefore it is important that you work around these and paraphrase the rest of the text as much as you can.

References used for information in this blog:

Burnapp, D. (2009) Getting ahead as an International Student. United Kingdom: Open University Press.
Cottrell, S. (2008) The Study Skills Handbook (3rd ed.) New York: Palgrave MacMillan
Hewings, M. (2012) Cambridge Academic English. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press Ltd.
Oshima, A. and Hogue, A. (2006) Writing Academic English (4th ed.) New York: Pearson Education Inc.
Sowton, C. (2012) 50 Steps to Improving your Academic Writing. United Kingdom: Garnet Publishing Ltd.
The Open University (2013) Paraphrasing Text [Online] http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/culture/english-language/paraphrasing-text/content-section-0 [Accessed on 14/8/2013]

We hope you found our blog on paraphrasing helpful. If you haven any comments, please leave them below.
We look forward to hearing from you in Solas English!

Sentences - Part 1, Simple Sentences

In today's blog we are going to look at some of the rules around sentence structures. In this post we will look at simple sentences and some of the problems we might have with sentence structures when we writing in English.

So first of all, what is a sentence?

A sentence is a group of words (independent clause) that:

• Contains at least one subject and one verb.
• Expresses a complete though.

There are four kinds of sentences in English:

• Simple sentences
• Compound sentences
• Complex sentences
• Compound-complex sentences

In this post we are going to look at Simple Sentences

A simple sentence has one subject/verb pair. The subject tells who or what did something. The verb tells the action (jump, work, think) or condition (is, was, seem, appear). Some simple sentences may have an object also. The object is the receiver of the verb by the subject. However, not all sentences have an object, e.g. I travel a lot.

In order for a sentence to be  grammatically correct, the sentence must have a subject/verb agreement. Look at these examples:

A simple sentence can have one of several possible 'formulas'. Here are four possibilities:

Notice that the subject in a simple sentence may have two or more items (sentences 2 and 4). The verb may have two or more items (sentences 3 and 4). 

Subject/Verb Agreement

You already know that the subject and verbs agree in number:

So here are some common errors with subject/verb agreement:

1. When a sentence begins with the word there + verb be, the subject follows the be verb. For example, 

2. A prepositional phrase (a group of words beginning with a preposition such as of, with, in, at or on, and ending with a noun or pronoun) can come between a subject and its verb. Prepositional phrases may come after a subject, but they are not part of the subject.

3. Some words are always singular:

4. A few words are always plural:

5. A few words can be either singular or plural. In these cases, you must refer to the noun in the prepositional phrase:

Fragmented Sentences

In some languages , you can sometimes leave out the subject in a sentence; in others, you can sometimes leave out the verb.

In English, you must ALWAYS have at least one subject and one verb in every sentence. If you leave either the subject or the verb, your sentence is incomplete. We call an incomplete sentence a fragment, or fragment sentence.

These are fragments. Fragments are sentence errors.

Reference: Oshima, A and Hogue A, Introduction to Academic Writing, 3rd Ed., Pearson Longman

So now we have reviewed Simple Sentences. Check out our next blog post in our sentences series - Part 1, Compound Sentences

Sentences - Part 2, Compound Sentences

In part 2 of our sentence series we talk about compound sentences. In this blog we will look at what compound sentences are, and what are the important features we need to consider when writing compound sentences.

What is a compound sentence?

A compound sentence is composed of at least two independent clauses joined by a comma and a co-ordinating conjunction. An independent clause, like a simple sentence, has a subject + verb and carries its own meaning (see the blog post Sentences - Part 1, Simple Sentences for more information).

A compound sentence has the following 'formula':

There are seven co-ordinating conjunctions in English. You can easily remember them by using the acronym FANBOYS. The English co-ordinating conjunctions are:

For has the same meaning as because; use for to introduce a reason or cause.

It is not easy to get there, for you have to hike down a long rail.

And joins sentences that are alike

He dropped the rice ball, and it rolled into a hole in the ground.

Nor means 'not this and not that'; use nor to join two negative clauses. You must use question word order after nor; place the auxiliary verb before the subject.

She didn't talk, nor did she move.

The book isn't very long, nor is it difficult to read.

But joins sentences that are opposite or show contract.

They were happy, but they were poor.

Or joins sentences that give choices or alternatives

He could choose a big box, or he could choose a small one.

Yet has approximately the same meaning as but; that is, it shows contrast or joins opposite. Use yet when the second part (clause) of the sentence says something is unexpected or surprising.

I was scared, yet I was also curious about the old lady.

So joins sentences when the second sentence expresses the result of something described in the first sentence.

The greedy man wanted all the mice's gold, so he pretended to be a cat.

* So (that) can also be used as a subordinator (see Sentences part 3 - Complex sentences) when connecting two clauses for a 'purpose'. In academic writing Therefore would be a more suitable linking word for this reason.

Using a comma with co-ordinating conjunctions

Use a comma before a co-ordinating conjunction in compound sentences only. Do not use a comma to join two words of two phrases in a simple sentence:

Run-ons and Comma Slices

Run-ons and comma slices are similar errors. Both happen when you join sentences incorrectly.

Run-ons happen when you join two simple sentences without a comma and without a connecting word. For example,

Men like to shop quickly women like to browse.

A comma slice error happens when you join two simple sentences with a comma alone. For example,

Men like to shop quickly, women like to browse.

There are three ways to correct run-on and comma slice errors:

* We will look at these in a different blog post

Proofreading techniques: How to find run-ons and comma slices in your writing.

Compound Sentences with Conjunctive Adverbs

A second way to form a compound sentence is as follows:

Independent clause; + conjunctive adverb, + independent clause

Salt water boils at a higher temperature than freshwater; therefore, food cooks faster in salt water.

When writing a compound sentence in this structure, it is important to use the correct punctuation. You should put a semicolon (;) before and a comma (,) after the conjunctive adverb.

Reference: Oshima, A and Hogue A, Introduction to Academic Writing, 3rd Ed., Pearson Longman

In this blog post we reviewed compound sentences. Check out our next blog post in our sentences series, Sentences - Part 3, Complex Sentences

Sentences - Part 3, Complex sentences

In the final blog post of our series on sentence structures, we are looking at complex sentences. We will look at what complex sentences are, what are the rules of punctuation and what is the role of the subordinator in the sentence.

We know from the previous posts on sentence structure that a clause is a is a group of words that contain at least on subject and one verb;

Anna left the party early

because she was tired.

There are two types of clauses in English: independent and dependent (subordinating clause). An independent clause can be a sentence by itself.

Independent clause is another name for a simple sentence.

Anna left the party early

(You) hold the cat's mouth closed

(When you use the imperative, we do not use the subject 'you' as is it understood what the subject is already)

A dependent clause, subordinating clause, in contrast, cannot be a sentence by itself because its meaning is not complete. A dependent clause 'depends' on something else to complete its meaning.

... because she was tired.

... while I count to ten.

A complex sentence is a combination of one independent clause and one (or more) dependent clause(s) (subordinating clause).

Complex Sentences verses Compound Sentences

In a compound sentence, the co-ordinating conjunction must be in the middle of the two independent clauses (simple sentences).

We went to the shop, but he didn't buy anything.

In a complex sentence, the subordinator can appear at the start of the sentence of in the middle of the sentence.

The dependent clause always begins with the subordinator.

He goes to school after he finishes work.

After he finishes work, he goes to school.

Comma Rule

In a complex sentence, the the dependent clause comes first, separate the clauses with a comma. When the independent clause comes first, the subordinator separates the clause for you - you do not use a comma. 

Subordinators

Time Subordinators

after     

He goes to school after he finishes work.

After he finishes work, he goes to school.

as*

Several overcrowded buses passed as we were waiting.

As we were waiting, several overcrowded buses passed.

as soon as

She felt better as soon as she took the medicine.

As soon as she took the medicine, she felt better.

before

Before you apply to college, you have to take an entrance exam.

You have to take an entrance exam before you apply to college.

since

It's been a year since I left home.

Since I left home, it's been a year.

until

We can't leave the room until everyone has finished the test.

Until everyone has finished the test, we can't leave the room.

when

When you start college, you sometimes have to take a placement test.

You sometimes have to take a placement test when you start college.

whenever

Whenever I don't sleep well, I feel sick the next day.

I feel sick the next day, whenever I don't sleep well.

while

Several overcrowded buses passed while they were waiting.

While they were waiting, several overcrowded buses passed.

Reason Subordinators

because

Jack excels at sport because he trains hard.

Because he trains hard, Jack excels at sport.

since

Since she works out daily, Jill is in great condition.

Jill is in great condition since she works out daily. (It would be better to use because in this example of the subordinator in the middle of the sentence. The meaning would be much clearer.)

as*

As they want to compete in a marathon, they run everyday.

They run everyday as they want to compete in a marathon. (It would be better to use because in this example of the subordinator in the middle of the sentence. The meaning would be much clearer.)

So (that)

So (that) people could travel faster across the country, the Shinkansen was introduced to Japan.

The Shinkansen was introduced to Japan so (that) people could travel faster across the country.

Place Subordinators

where

I can never remember where I put my house keys.

Where I put my house keys, I can never remember.

wherever

A baby animal follows its mother wherever she goes.

Wherever she (the mother) goes, a baby animal follows its mother (her).

*Notice that as can be either a time subordinator or a reason subordinator.

We hope you found our series on sentence structures useful. Please share any comments with us in our comments section below.

Meet Jerry ...

Xinlong (Jerry) is a MSc Architectural Engineering: Environmental Design student at the University of Bath. 

Jerry has kindly taken some time out of his busy schedule to talk to us today about his experience on the English pre-sessional course which was combined with his degree offer, and gives some advice about academic skills and culture.

So first question Jerry, why did you apply for the University of Bath?

I applied for  Bath because this university has a very good reputation in the architect industry in the UK and the courses in the degree are very well organised - covered most of my interests. Plus, Bath is a very delicate town.

How did the pre-sessional English course help you?

Firstly, as this is my first time to study abroad, the pre-sessional course helped me start to talk to people in English, which made my following study much easier. Secondly, the writing part of the course was extremely helpful. I learned how to structure an academic essay in English properly. Thirdly, I met many friends who were going to take the same degree course as me in the course. Overall, the pre-sessional course was a very good start point of my study in the UK.

"the pre-sessional course helped me start to talk to people in English"

Were you surprised by the differences between the academic culture in your country and in the country where you studied?

Yes, the academic atmosphere in the UK is more active than in my country.

What differences did you not expect?

The relation between tutors and students is more like friends.

Do you think it's a good idea for students applying to an English language university to do an academic course/pre-sessional course to help them prepare?

Yes I think it’s a very good idea to do a pre-sessional course before the degree course for students who plan to study in English for the first time, even if your English level has reached the requirements, because this can help you to get familiar with the academic style beforehand.

"It’s a good idea to make clear what you need to improve in particular."

Do you have any advice for students who are thinking about taking an academic preparation course?

It’s a good idea to make clear what you need to improve in particular. This could make the course more effective. Also, try to engage in the course as much as possible, the more uncomfortable you feel during the pre-sessional course, the more comfortable you will feel during your degree course.

Are you happy with your experience on the course?

Overall I am very satisfied with my experience during the pre-sessional course. I feel very lucky to have met all the people in the course.

Thank you Jerry, and we wish you the best with your studies in the future.