Analysis Of Police Interrogation

Analysis of Police Interrogation

This extract is taken from a police interrogation; a witness under questioning. Its purpose is to drawn as much information from the witness as possible but in a polite, formal way. It is of a high and low register. Every conversation is expected to go a certain way. The expectation of each conversation will vary, due to its place, purpose and the relationship

The entire conversation is turn taking. This is important because both participants of the conversation are very significant to its outcome; the policemen needs to be able to ask the right questions to get the right information and the witness needs to be given the time to try to recall as many details as possible.

The policemen is asking questions. He is doing this is in a formal manner because he wants to come across professional and it is also likely that he knows what he needs to asking, having been in this situation many times before. However, the witness is much less formal and pauses a lot. This is most likely because they are nervous and have never been in this situation before; possibly intimidated by the police office.

One of the questions asked, “Could you see if anyone was hurt?” is transactional language. The policemen is trying to drive towards precise information and wants a precise answer. This is important because the purpose of this conversation is for the policemen to draw as much vital information as possible from the witness.

Even though the speakers are giving each other opportunities to speak and the witness is saying a lot more, we know the policemen is in control. In this situation, it is most likely that the policemen is going to be leading the conversation, due to its purpose and his level of authority. However, there are several other factors that indicate who is in control. Firstly, the policemen is more formal, speaking with precision and fluency, asserting his authority, whereas the witness replies in a slow, stuttering manner. This is demonstrating a level of panic, as one would show if they were not in control of a serious situation.

This sense of panic is elaborated even further as the witness constantly uses non-fluency features during their speech, “like…er…you know.” Paired with pauses for a greater effect, these features illustrate the speaker’s anxiety of disappointing the policemen with the wrong information. In addition, these kind of phrases could also indicate how old or even where the witness is from.

The witness occasionally uses expressive language like “just”. This is important because the witness it trying to highlight that they had nothing to do with what was going on and wanted to make it clear that they had no intentions of being around when the accident happened; they were simply doing their own thing, “just walking the dog”.

From this extract we can infer that the police officer was very polite throughout the questioning. He has acted in this way because he wants the witness to feel calm and relaxed to talk. Therefore it would make his job, of finding out information, much easier.

Essay - Bishop Waltham's fight against Sainsbury's

The text I am analysing is a leaflet, produced by a local protest group (Bishops Waltham Action Group), its purpose is to persuade the reader to give support for a campaign against the construction of a new Sainsbury’s superstore. It is aimed at all local residents (of Bishops Waltham) and the local council. As a result it is of a higher register than a normal leaflet.

To begin, the most noticeable part of the leaflet is the picture/heading at the top. There is a big clock and next to it reads ‘Time’s running out… write a letter today.’ The large size of this picture is to draw the attention of the reader, once grasping their attention it dwells on the concept of time. This is to emphasise the urgency and desperation felt by the action group. They are pushing the locals to act fast. This idea of time running out also has connotations of a bomb – once time has run out, there will be an explosion or, in this case, there town will be destroyed. Building upon the use of graphology, at the very bottom, there is a statement, ‘Love Bishops Waltham’, partly surrounded by a heart. This heart expresses the care and desire of this action group, to save their town. They are also attempting to convey this love onto the reader, striving for a reaction of sympathy.

The leaflet is written in the form of a letter, ‘Dear Resident’. The purpose of this is to make the leaflet more personal. Letters are usually addressed to one specific person, so this method is to try to make the reader feel as though this is written for them. Also the use of a singular noun demonstrates this point even further, as it seems to be addressed to each individual resident who reads it, rather than all of the residents collectively.

Moving on, the writer of this leaflet has used several lexis in the semantic field of war. This is to make it seem as though their fight with Sainsbury’s is much more significant than one may see it; as though they will lose everything if the ‘war’ is lost. Sainsbury’s is described as a ‘corporate juggernaut’ to build a physical image of just how powerful and destructive the multi-millionaire company is. This indestructible illustration of Sainsbury’s also creates a David-and-Goliath-like situation; the tiny town of Bishops Waltham representing a defenceless David. Other lexis, such as ‘destroy’, ‘diminished’ and ‘battle’ exaggerate the all-or-nothing fight to an even further point.

Throughout this text the writer has used imperative sentences, ‘write a letter today’, to develop his point urgency. Imperative sentences are commands, the writer is not asking the reader to do something but telling them. This is to make the reader feel as if they have no options other than to take action but also giving them motivation to make a difference. This motivational concept is then backed by the occasional feature of exclamatory sentences and deontic verbs. Sentences such as ‘This is where the real fight starts!’ is a statement that creates a sense of urgency, but can also highlight important information. Deontic verbs, like ‘will’, express certainty and give the reader hope that something will be done and their contribution will make a difference.

                              Pronouns have a huge significance in the persuasive nature of this text. The constant use of the words ‘you’ and ‘we’ have great effect. 2^nd Person pronouns like ‘you’ give involvement to the reader, it makes them feel as though they are a part of it and the leaflet is directed towards them. Collective pronouns like ‘we’ emphasise the importance of their community sticking together – suggesting that Sainsbury’s can only be brought down if everyone contributes.

In large, bold font stands the interrogative sentence ‘IS THIS A CHANCE WORTH TAKING?’ This is a rhetorical question but makes the reader believe they are causing more damage and taking a greater risk if they take no action.

Overall, the writer has used a great combination of language techniques, in an attempt to manipulate the audience’s thoughts and persuade them to take stand against Sainbury's

Connotations And Euphemisms

Connotations And Euphemisms

Connotations

3. Boy - Man - Gentleman - Male - Lad

Boy is a word usually used towards the youth or someone younger than yourself.  It is low register and does not show much respect.

Man is usually used towards elder, more mature people. It is still informal and does not infer respect.

Gentlemen can be directed towards anyone. It is usually associated with the politeness or formality of  a member of the male gender. It is a much more formal term.

Male is more formal but not quite in the same way as gentleman. The word male is more related to such situations as police reports or possibly scientific records.

The word Lad is colloquial  and very informal. It would only be used between friends and does not show much respect.

7. Terrorist - Guerrilla - Freedom Fighter

Terrorist would be used to categorise those that are causing mass deaths/destruction for the wrong reason or even without reason.

Guerrilla would categorise those who a fighting for a specific reason but they may not be doing it in the most peaceful way - often killing or carrying out violent acts to prove their point.

Freedom Fighter has much more peaceful connotations. One would assume that they are fighting for the right reasons and are doing it in a civilised fashion.

Euphemisms

Ethnic cleansing - This means genocide. Genocide is a very irrational and unpleasant ideology so the phrase 'ethnic cleansing' makes it sound less horrific and almost justifying it, as though saying a certain ethnicity is just 'dirt' in a society.

Senior Citizen - Meaning Old. This euphemism is used to show respect for those of age and Shows value.

To sleep with someone - Sex. Some people will find that using the word sex is inappropriate and animalistic, therefore there are many euphemisms to make it sound more civil and take away as much sexual connotation as possible. 

Poem

                                                                           Poem

Stunning, superb and sublime in every way,

 Unsurprisingly golden as you lay,

Never leaving my mind for a minute,

Certainly knowing there will be no limit,

Keeping me waiting is your game,

Pushing me through a miles worth of pain,

Here I have come, all the way to your door,

Begging, pleading, calling for more,

The greatest desire of every man,

Without a doubt you are always the plan,

Yet I am always here waiting, waiting in line,

To only feel how you are so fine,

A creation of heaven but manipulated by hell,

My love for you is far too great to tell,

The truth to my wife, a husband might cost her,

So I keep it a secret and have another pint of Foster.

ANALYSIS

This piece is a poem/jingle that may be found on a beer advert.

Rhyme - There is a repetition of rhyming couplets at the end of every sentence. This is used to create a beat or a memorable tune, to get stuck in the consumers head.

Sibilance - Sibilance is used to emphasise certain features and is at the very beginning to create a strong, memorable entrance for the jingle, as it needs to immediately grab the consumers attention.

2nd Person Pro Nouns - These are used throughout the jingle to make it personal/more direct, it emphasises the feelings felt for the object. These pro nouns also continuously personify the beers.

1st Person Pro Nouns - Again, pro nouns are used to make the jingle more personal and gives a view from the speakers point. This makes the poem more relatable for consumers.

Noun Phrases - These are  used to exaggerate the speakers feelings for the object; expressing how deeply he feels.

Connotations and Denotations - 'Manipulated' It means to change something. It has the connotations of doing so forcefully, control or influence cleverly or unscrupulously.

GRAMMAR

Grammar

Nouns

Nouns are naming words, they are used to identify any class of people, places or objects.

Nouns are then split into different groups:

Proper Noun; a name used for an individual person, object or place spelled with an initial capital letter.

Collective Noun; A noun which refers to a group of something(e.g. a swarm of bees)

Pronoun; a word that can function as a noun phrase used by itself and that refers to either yourself (e.g. I, you ) or to someone or something else(e.g. she, it, this ).

Concrete; A noun that names something physical, something that you can see, hear, touch, smell or taste.

Abstract; A noun that names an idea or concept.

Pronoun

Pronouns are a major subclass of nouns. They are called pronouns because they can sometimes replace a noun in a sentence.

Pronouns – He, she, it, him, her etc.

Pronouns have many different forms and can be used in any tense.

Noun Phrase

A noun phrase is made up of a noun and any words that modify the noun (different modifications can change the meaning of a noun).

Adjectives

Adjectives are words or phrases that modify or describe nouns or pronouns.

The job of an adjective is to be evaluative, emotive or descriptive.

Verbs

Put simply, verbs are doing words.

The base form of a verb is called an infinitive.

On one side you have the ‘main verbs’ – Verbs that tell you the action (run, jump).

On the other side you have auxiliary verbs. These are verbs that give extra information or affect the meaning of the main verb.

Auxiliary Verbs

Primary auxiliaries – Do, have, be etc.

Modal auxiliary verbs – can, could, would, should, must, may, might, shall etc.

Modal verbs are then broken down into two groups, Epistemic and Deontic.

Epistemic verbs allow freedom or choice (may, might etc.)

Deontic verbs are direct or strict (must, will etc.)

Clauses and Voices

Primary auxiliary verbs often help distinguish the tense of a sentence.

Modal auxiliary verbs often show possibility.

Clauses – In the same way that words form phrases, phrases form longer structure called clauses. These are groups of words centred around a verb phrase.

A clause will consist of:

The subject

The verb

The object

Clauses

Coordinated Clauses – This is when two clauses are joined together by using a conjunction. However, coordinated clauses must make sense on their own if you remove the conjunction.

Subordinate Clauses – A subordinate clause means there will be a main clause (a unit that can stand on its own and still make sense) and by phrases that only make sense when linked to the main clause.

Verb Phrases

Verb phrases are built around the main verb.

Modal auxiliary verbs can be placed along a continuum to show degrees of strength towards commitment.

Verbs can tell you when thing happen (verbs can be in any tense and can be in a passive or active voice).

Passive and Active Titles

“Gran has her purse and umbrella pinched by Seagull.” Passive

“Seagull swoops on grandmother in carpark.” Active

The first headline makes the elderly woman the subject and is aimed to create sympathy for her, as she’s been victimised by a seagull. This emphasises what the seagull has taken (a bag of shopping and an umbrella) which is most peculiar so that would interest readers to read this article.

The second headline makes the seagull the subject, it’s aim is to create a villainous image of this seagull.