FA cup final - Text I and J

Text I and J are articles about a F.A. cup final. Text I is a souvenir edition in the Manchester Evening Chronicle published on May the 1^st 1934, 3 days after the actual match.Why is this relevant?  Text J is a football bulletin on the BBC sports websites, written on and during match day on the 17^th May 2008.  The differences in these texts comes from the availability of technology. The internet has provided BBC with the use of instant communication whereas in 1934, this was not available.

Good - there is evidence here of a systematic response AO1 In terms of graphology, there is little white space and an old fashioned font in Text I. This may come from the lack of technology and the cost of printing in 1934, meaning that they had to cram as much information onto the paper as they can. On the other hand Text J features a lot more white space and is set in chronological order. The web page gives the time of each incident and allows the audience to keep up with the action as it happens. Providing instant updates in 1934 wouldn't be possible and explains the 3 day delay. The cost to run the website may be cheaper than printing thousands of papers therefore the authors may feel less inclined to cram as much as they can into the space available Good - this is an astute AO3 point.  More space is available due to the technology of websites and readers are able to scroll down to see the whole text. it would have been impossible to give that much detail in a newspaper. The needs and wants of the audience also differ today. Readers may want to access live updates on their laptops and phones while performing other tasks such as working. AO3 In 1934 the audience were expecting to read about the game in their newspapers after it had happened.

In terms of lexis and grammar, Text I is harder to read and has a much more formal register. It features complex sentences and isn't separated into smaller chunks in comparison to text J. This may be due to the spontaneity of text J and having to publish the information as it happens.  Words such as ‘Shall’ and 'Bravo'  might suggest that the text is aimed at a higher class and educated audience. The formality of Text I may be due to the fact that it is a souvenir edition, meaning it may be kept forever in contrast to Text J which is ephemera and will not be kept. Text J appears more informal with words such as 'Pesky' being used. Get out your Lexis/Semantic change sheet and analyse lexis using the correct terminology. As Text J is a live text, most of the text is spontaneous, especially the quotes from managers and players on the other hand the quotes in Text I may have been rehearsed leading to a more formal text. Text I and J contrast in the pronouns they use, Text J features many first person plural pronouns such as 'We' and 'Us' whereas Text I has many first person pronouns such as 'I felt' and 'I was very pleased'  instead of 'We'. Why would that be? Ensure you analyse your points in full. Both texts share a semantic field of football with subject specific jargon being used e.g. 'Skipper' and 'Silverware' but Text I has a deeper semantic field and lexis of war and battle. Words such as 'Victory', 'Honour' and 'fighting' imply that it was more than a football match and very important to those involved.

You lose your systematic response slightly here - ensure you start with AO1 and then apply AO2.

Shared knowledge plays a massive role in both texts. In Text J many football players are mentioned such as 'Kanu' and 'David James'. Also nicknames such as 'Pompey' are used, which shows the text is aimed towards football fans. Text I also requires shared knowledge as it features many 'prominent football personalities' which were most likely well known by football fans during the time. Text I may assume that the audience had seen the football match as it doesn't give a summary of what happened. AO3. Due to the lack of technology in that era, the only way to watch football was to be at the match. This would significantly reduce the amount of viewers and therefore may have an effect on the amount of readers of the text. There is more you could add regarding the use of surnames.

Again, start with AO1 and then apply AO2 (Gender). The perceived view of women has changed between the two texts. Text J is written by a female called Caroline Cheese whereas Text I appears more exclusive and only features quotes and opinions from men, especially those of higher importance such as the Chief Constable of Manchester and the Lord Mayor of Manchester. During this time women weren't heavily involved in sport, especially football whereas today they have a bigger role in the sport. This shows the difference in gender equality that has changed over time and women's role in world war 2 may have been a big factor in this. Do you think her language is 'typically' feminine or does she adopt the language features of the other men writing in the text?

In conclusion, text I and J differ in many different ways. Visually they appear to be very different with varying amounts of white space and text. I believe this is entirely down to the availability of technology and is the reason for this change. The lexis and grammar also vary, especially in the words used and formality. This is due to natural language change and the addition and deletion of words. Finally the attitudes towards females and class have also change dramatically, this is partly due to equality rights and views towards women.