Language Analysis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I have decided that on my double page spread I am going to include a 10 top tips, and to help myself write this I am going to analyse ‘Q (September 2017) 10 commandments, unknown author’.

In the article there is clear evidence of the key journalistic techniques, the 5 Ws and an H. We can easily recognise that the article is about the artist Wyclef Jean as it is in big font at the top of the page, we know what the article involves because at the top there is an arrow in a bold red which stands out from the background and it is called the ’10 commandments’, we know where to find this article as there is a title just above the 10 tips and the arrow points towards the article, we know why this article has been written because there is a caption saying ‘The rapper and musician’s rules for life.’ which is a perfect caption to introduce the article, we know when this article was written because there is a date at the bottom of the page and finally we don’t completely know how this article was written. A simple introduction saying ‘we spoke to Wyclef Jean about his 10 top tips’ would have been sufficient.

It is very evident that this article is a ’10 tips for life’ as there is large numbers for the tips with bold captions alongside them which makes it accessible for a wide range of audience, and it is laid out in a simple list style and the simplicity is effective because it allows a younger demographic to read it and therefore creates a wider target audience for their magazine.

We aren’t completely aware of the presence of the journalist because he doesn’t include any 1st, 2nd or 3rd person language and it sounds like the interviewee is just talking to himself so the journalist could have made the audience more aware of his presence in this article and the impact of this is that the audience can withdraw a sense of personal identity and associate themselves with the celebrity if it is obvious that the journalist has had the ability to speak to them and interview them and the article lost that personal identification. The article is written in 1st person and it is all quoted from the celebrity being interviews and the effect of this is that it makes the audience feel like they are being spoken to directly by the celebrity and then the celebrity will seem ordinary and accessible to the audience which caters to the preferred reading of the audience as they will feel included. We can clearly notice the introduction however a clear conclusion isn’t included which would be helpful in wrapping up the interview and setting the stage for the next page in the magazine.

In the interview, it has been worded like a conversation and there is also explicit language inside as well which further connotes the idea of it being quite personal and that the reader can feel involved because of this and it also entertains the audience because the language isn’t filtered and therefore they are getting honest opinions and answers. The tone and register are informal but don’t have a direct correlation to the genre of rap from which the interviewee came to fame. There is metaphors and similes included in the interview but only the ones that the interviewee has used as there is hardly any presence from the journalist. Each paragraph is quoted from the celebrity being interviewed so it is all quotes. From reading the article, the audience are able to get a source of personal identity, information and entertainment due to the personal feeling as there is no filtered language so it is like having a conversation with the celebrity.

In this article, the journalist has had little to no presence but he has represented the celebrity as very ordinary and accessible as he hasn’t filtered the explicit language and has included full answers from the celebrity and he has also been portrayed as a smart and wise figure as he is passing on knowledge whether it is serious or not which is a good source of information for the reader.

 

 

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