Question

1. Explain how the features in language can be used to manipulate the meaning of text. Give an

Answer 1

Answer: Word choice: The sales manager is aggressive.

The sales manager is bossy   The sales manager is assertive. The underlined words are synonyms with generally the same denotation, but they have different connotations.

Active or passive voice:  The construction workers destroyed the trees when they replaced the sidewalk. (Active, and focuses on the workers)

The trees were destroyed by the construction workers when they replaced the sidewalk. (Passive, focuses on the trees)

Adverb movement: When they replaced the sidewalk, the construction workers destroyed the trees. (Moving the adverb clause to the beginning of the sentence gives more focus on the reason-- and may tend to justify the actions of the workers.)

Explanation:

These are just a few examples of some features of the language that may influence how a reader or listener may get different meanings from the same basic information.