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Introduction

Since projections show that schools will continue to become more diverse, it is important to learn how teachers can provide equitable education to all groups of students. One important way to do this is to look at the historical experiences of diverse peoples within the schooling system in America that may affect the way a cultural group views public schooling. The following is a brief history of reading instruction in America, as well as a look at the experiences of diverse peoples in the American schooling system, which can help us understand how cultural groups as a whole may view schooling in light of their historical experiences. Also discussed is the historical promotion or devaluation of different languages and dialects, the use of multicultural literature in the history of the American school system, and a history of differentiation in relation to races and cultures.

Reading Instruction in the United States

“Puritan influence on the schools in New England … endowed American schools with many of the values incorporated even today in the nations schools” (Klug and Whitfield, 2003, p.30). There has been a history of using schooling to strip students of their native culture in order to create one unified culture in America. Ethnicity and culture have not been seen as resources, but something to change into the dominant Anglo Saxon Protestant way of living, from the time of colonization by the Europeans.

In many situations throughout the history of schooling in America, minority students have been forced to study with racist or stereotypical material, left out of the curriculum, and pushed to try to succeed in a system that is geared toward the needs of the majority, in America’s case White Anglo Saxon Protestants.

In general, most minority cultures have been put through subtractive schooling, a process in which the aspects of their cultures are taken away rather than used as resources in their education. Their cultural and linguistic abilities have not been valued or nurtured by schools. In many ways, there has been an attempt to eliminate these resources (Valenzuela, 1999, p.26). Spring (2005) called this deculturalization, detailing how Anglo Americans attempted to destroy the unique culture of Native Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans, and immigrants from other Latin American, European, and Asian countries. He summed up this phenomenon saying the hidden message in all this was “be like us… and we might accept you” (p.183).

In Colonial America, people thought that in order to achieve salvation, one must be able to read the Bible (Monaghan, Hartman, and Monaghan, 2002). The first law requiring reading to be taught was in Massachusetts in 1642. In 1647, another law was passed in Massachusetts requiring towns over 50 families to pay for a public school teacher. These early schools used the alphabet method to teach reading orally. It was a part to whole approach in which the students read each letter sound, each syllable, and then the entire word. The New England Primer and the Bible were the most common books used for instruction during the time period (Monaghan et al., p. 224-25).

After the Revolutionary War, America was a new nation with many different cultures coming together as one. Post revolutionary leaders “rejected the idea of a multicultural society and advocated the creation of a unified American culture” (Spring, 2005, p.44). Anglo Saxon Protestant traditions took the dominant role in this unified society. Schools reflected this trend, in effect pushing cultural minority students to assimilate to a unified American culture.

An example of this press for the use of Anglo Saxon Protestant values as the general American culture can be seen in the schooling controversies in Pennsylvania in the late 1700s over language and culture in the schools (Spring, 2005). Many Anglo Saxon Protestants were concerned over the high numbers of German immigrants in the area. There was an effort by Benjamin Franklin and others to make English the official language of schools. Charity schools were established, in which English was required as the language of instruction, even though two thirds of the students spoke German.

Though there was a large uproar from the German community that caused these schools to fail, this attempt to Anglicize cultural minorities foreshadowed attempts to normalize the cultures of other groups in the country’s future.

During this period, Noah Webster penned the first American literacy textbooks that included a speller, a grammar, and a reader. The reader’s were for older children who could already read. It was not until later that simplified texts were provided for young children to read. These early basal readers had subscripts to indicate vowel pronunciations, the intention being to generate a national pronunciation. By eliminating regional pronunciations, Webster hoped to unify the new country with a national dialect (Monaghan et al., 2002, p 225).

The Common School movement (1830s and 40s) had many purposes, but one of the main goals was to ensure the unification of the country through a common culture based on Protestant Anglo Saxon values. The moral power of the school was based in the Protestant Bible, though the morals of different religions and cultures were not represented, and so possibly devalued, in schools. The movement, “was, in part, an attempt to halt the drift toward a multicultural society” (Spring, 2005, p.102).

Despite the shift toward acceptance of a multicultural society America has made since the country’s early years, recent legislation has moved us back toward the unified culture the common school strove for. The No Child Left Behind act of 2001 mandated that bilingual education be used only as a transition into English. What was formerly named the Office of Bilingual Education was changed to Office of English Language Acquisition, Language enhancement, and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient (Spring, 2005, p.462). The goal here was to provide for learning English without consideration of how to help the child maintain their first language. By requiring standardized tests, the law also ensured that curriculum is generalized for mainstream students, helping “to ensure that a single culture would dominate the school” (Spring, p.461).

In the mid 1800s reforms to the traditional forms of instruction started popping up.  Johann Pestalozzi, a Swiss educator, believed that learning occurred through concrete experiences, and promoted moving away from rote learning. His theories influenced those in the American education field. Spelling books were also rejected for the fact that they contained words students could not understand or use. The readers used in schools were attacked for their adult themes and wording. All the reformers promoted a stronger emphasis on meaning (Monaghan et al., 2002). Instead of memorizing words and pronunciations, the emphasis was shifting to making meaning of writing rather than just decoding the words.

The McGuffey Eclectic Readers were a series of textbooks created in this time period to teach children reading. These books were now being used with all levels of readers, not just the students with more advanced ability to read. The stories still had a religious, moralizing overtone. By the end of the century, the moralizing became less blatant than it had been in the past, but still was present in most texts used for school. The most popular themes included “honesty, courage, hard work, self reliance, patriotism, and temperance”( Monaghan et al., 2002, p. 226). It was common for these books to contain the gender stereotypes of the time.

Starting in the 1870s and through 1940, the progressive education movement moved toward the word method of reading instruction, where whole meaningful words were taught rather than the letter components (Monaghan et al., 2002). Reading for meaning was encouraged, and fairy tales and myths were used for lower level readers. These were chosen for their representation of the beliefs of so called primitive peoples. This was a move away from the patriotic writings and bible stories found in earlier reading texts that portrayed mostly Anglo Saxon Protestant ideologies. During this time there was also a move toward more silent reading by children and the beginning of testing in reading.

In the 1940s, the intrinsic phonics method was used, in which phoneme grapheme correspondence was learned by inferring the relationship from previously known sight words (Monaghan et al., 2002). We see this in William S. Gray’s Dick and Jane series. Controlled, repetitive vocabulary gave children a chance to learn sight words, and phonic knowledge was derived from these words. Meaning was of primary importance at the time, and children relied on context and illustrations to comprehend the stories. The content of reading texts also moved toward realistic family settings, though the content consisted of “…beautifully illustrated stories…filled with white, middle-class, suburban families, mothers in aprons, foolish little sisters, and problem-solving older brothers” (Monaghan et al., p. 228). Though the content may have been real life to some children, for the most part gender stereotypes were common place in these stories, and content excluded depictions of people in poverty or children of different races.

In the 1955, the professional consensus on the word method was attacked by Rudolf Flesch in his book Why Johnny Can’t Read—and What You can Do About It. He claimed that the phonics approach was more effective, though the professional community did not agree. Even over the professional community’s objections, reading texts started moving toward systematic phonics approaches (Monaghan et al., 2002). In 1964, Bond and Dykstra tried to find the best method for reading instruction, “…and concluded that there was more variation within methods than between them and that no one method was superior” for teaching reading (Monaghan et al., p. 229).

In the late 1980s, the whole language approach appeared, positing that reading acquisition both occurred naturally when a child was surrounded by authentic materials, the language arts were integrated into other curriculum, and the child was able to use their imagination and individual abilities to their fullest extent (Monaghan et al., 2002). This approach made the reading textbooks less desired and promoted a more extensive publishing of trade books for children.

The embedded phonics approach of this method upset parents, who viewed it as anti-phonics since the instruction was not explicit. The political climate shifted and some states started passing laws that required teachers to use systematic and explicit phonics instruction. The Right to Read organization and many parents have pushed for more systematic approach to teaching phonics, which is the current climate in many schools (Monaghan et al., 2002). In 2000, sixty three percent of kindergarten and first grade teachers surveyed said they thought phonics instruction should be taught systematically and explicitly to beginning readers (Morrow et al., 2002).

The goal of this paper was to find the strategies for teaching early literacy to students of a variety of cultural backgrounds. It explored studies that sought to illuminate the needs of different student groups and methods that teachers of emergent readers and writers could use to equitably teach all their students. By creating a bank of resources with these needs and methods, I hope to provide a chance for equity in the classroom where a teacher can give all their students an even chance at success.

Limitations

The topic of race, culture, and class is huge. This paper is limited to the study of major ethnic, cultural, and class groups in the United States, and studies that help illuminate strategies that support literacy development for these groups. The focus was on strategies for emergent literacy development, and I focused an age range of grades from pre-kindergarten through 5^th grade, with an emphasis on Kindergarten through 3^rd grade. Some older students (late elementary and early middle school) are still acquiring the primary literacy skills that are the focus in the early years of elementary school, and some strategies for helping these students may be included as well, but are not a major focus of this paper. Some studies with older subjects may also have implications for students of all ages, and a few of these are included as well.

Controversies

The National Reading Panel Report

The National Reading Panel released a report in 2000 detailing the best practice for teaching reading. It considered only experimental and quasi-experimental studies. The panel justified this action, because the report could turn into mandates for schools and the relationships between method and result needed to be very clear. The report was used as the basis for the Reading Excellence act instituted by George W. Bush and Secretary of Education Rod Paige in 2001 (Shanahan, 2002).

The panel found that there were six major elements to effective reading instruction, including conducting phonemic awareness activities, implementing systematic and explicit phonics instruction, using guided oral reading, encouraging children to read, using incidental and direct vocabulary instruction, and teaching children comprehension strategies(Shanahan, 2002).

Some in the educational community feel that the National Reading Panel left out important aspects of reading acquisition in the study. The report considered only studies of experimental design, but there is a large body of research that was left out of the study simply because it was of a different design (Hiebert & Adler, 2002). Qualitative and descriptive data was not considered (Shanahan, 2002). This research could be used to guide practice, but was not considered by the panel, and thus is not in the official government recommendation for teaching reading (Hiebert & Adler).

According to Hiebert and Adler (2002), the panel also failed to look into different types of instruction, such as the literature based reading instruction which is used in a majority of schools (p. 119). The panel also did not address the teaching of English to students who did not already know it, one of the most challenging and important jobs for a reading teacher. Because of the aspects of emergent literacy instruction that were left out of these studies, it is important to look to other sources for a more well rounded idea of strategies that work.

Because the panel did not differentiate their research for different types of students, the recommendations they make are based on the needs of the majority, which disadvantages minority students who may have different needs. By focusing on only quantitative studies, the panel is not considering the benefit using other types of research might have for students inside and outside the mainstream U.S. culture. By leaving out study on how to teach students who are language minority, the panel devalues their worth in the school system. Finding methods that work for all students, or including all students in its recommendations, would be a more equitable proposal than the one put forth by the National Reading Panel.

Color-Blindness

Another controversy in teaching multicultural students is the issue of being so called color-blind as a teacher. Treating all children the same in order to treat them fairly seems sensible, but in reality all students have different needs and some believe that treating them all one way disadvantages minority students. “Teachers [have] tried to become ‘color-blind’ in their classrooms in order to treat students equally. In doing so, they devalued the positive influences of the students’ natal communities” (Klug and Whitfield, 2003, p.41). Delpit (1995) states that when teachers attempt to not treat children differently based on race, they do their students a great disservice. Because the race of the child is not being recognized, the child may infer “that there is something wrong with being black or brown, and that it should not be noticed? I would like to suggest that if one does not see color, then one does not really see children.” (p. 177).

Some contend that teachers must recognize a student’s ethnicity, culture, and class as frame of reference, a resource, and something to be honored. If any of these things is ignored, a student’s education will suffer. In the struggle to treat all children equitably, some assume we must treat them equally, but many teachers who work with minority communities recognize that treating all children the same disadvantages minority students.

Summary

In review, because of current levels of diversity and a continuing trend towards even greater diversity, it is important to consider the needs and unique abilities of nonmajority students in order to have equitable schools where all students learn. If there is no consideration for culture, schools will leave more and more children behind as classrooms continue to diversify. The early years set the stage for all later schooling, so it is important for teachers of primary literacy take these needs into account. Teachers who attempt to be color blind, and not treat minority students differently, only further disadvantage students who will not succeed when treated the same as majority students. Teachers sometimes disadvantage students by overestimating or underestimating their abilities based on stereotypes.

The goal of this paper is to help teachers find methods of teaching a diverse student base that will provide resources for all types of students that a teacher can use in order to provide equitable education to all their students. The next Chapter will explore the history of schooling in America in relation to methods for teaching reading and the experiences diverse cultural groups have had in public schools. Since cultural differences have caused conflict and misunderstandings in the classroom throughout history, it is important to keep in mind our purpose here, to find ways to help all children succeed. In order to help children of different cultures to learn as much as they can, it is important for teachers to understand the history that culture has experienced.

Abstract

This paper reviews 30 articles relevant to the effective primary literacy instruction in a multicultural classroom. The history of multicultural teaching in America has shown itself to be a subtractive process, in which there have been attempts to force minority cultures to assimilate to majority values, cultural practices, and language. This is the context into which many students of minority cultures enter into school. Identifying culturally relevant teaching practices is vital to the success of these students. The use of multicultural literature, acceptance by the teacher of a student’s use of heritage language and dialects, and specific culturally relevant methods for teaching reading are discussed as ways to engage students and to help all people’s children succeed in learning to read.

Statement of the Research Question and Rationale

What are teaching methods that help students from diverse culture and class backgrounds succeed in learning to read? This question is important because classrooms are becoming more and more diverse. According to Willis (2002), the shifting demographics will continue to construct an increasingly diverse American society.

Students from minority cultures were approximately thirty six percent of the school population in 2000 (Willis). About sixty three percent of students in schools are Caucasian, seventeen percent are African American, fourteen percent are Hispanic, four percent are Asian American or Pacific Islander, and fewer than two percent are Native American (Willis, p. 151). There is also great diversity among these groups, due to immigrant status, country of origin, and other cultural subgroups. The less than two percent of Native American students alone are comprised of 280 different tribes that “…differ in terms of their language, traditions, economics, and social interactions” (Willis, p. 152). According to Riccio et al. (2001), “the number of Hispanic immigrants in the United States continues to increase… and it is estimated that by 2020, one in four children in U.S. schools will be Hispanic, with even greater proportions in specific regions of the country” (p. 585). Looking at these statistics, it is clear that many classrooms will have on significant percentage of their population consisting of children who are linguistically and culturally diverse.

Teachers have students who come from a variety of backgrounds, and these student groups will continue to grow, and diversify. Differences of race, ethnicity, class, immigrant status, and language of origin are factors teachers have to consider in determining a student’s needs. Since children learn to make meaning through their experiences with their culture, the strategies for teaching reading that work with mainstream students will not necessarily be effective with students from minority backgrounds (Willis, 2002, 150). Treating all students as if they have the same educational needs will normalize the majority. This can leave many students who already belong to oppressed groups even further disadvantaged, creating inequity in the classroom.

The early years of literacy training are some of the most important for the rest of a child’s time in school. According to Barone (2003), children’s achievement in literacy in the early grades is the best predictor of their future success in reading, and “the quality of instruction in kindergarten and the primary grades is the single best weapon against reading failure” (p. 970). Lane, Menzies, Munton, Von Duering, and English (2005) concur, stating that “if children have not learned to read by the fourth grade, they have an 88% probability of never learning to read, even if intervention is put in place”(p. 21).

Considering this phenomenon in the context of the multicultural, multilingual classroom, it is important to find ways to help students from all backgrounds succeed in early reading acquisition.

In order to be effective as a teacher of literacy, it is important to know the background of all students and how cultural factors could affect their learning. It is also important to use these factors as resources and skills rather than as problems to overcome. According to Delpit (1995), “Schools must provide these children the content that other families from a different cultural orientation provide at home. This does not mean separating children according to family background, but instead, ensuring that each classroom incorporate (sic) strategies appropriate for all the children it confines” (p.30). By using strategies that work for all students in a classroom, a teacher can be confident that success is attainable for all.

The teaching that goes on in most schools reflects middle class norms and values. For students who do not fit this mold, that education will not help them achieve as much as instruction based on their needs. “To provide schooling for everyone’s children that reflects liberal, middle-class values and aspirations is to ensure the maintenance of the status quo, to ensure that power, the culture of power, remains in the hands of those who already have it” (Delpit, 1995, 28). If we want to give students a chance at upward mobility and an equitable chance in life, teachers must provide education that evens the playing field.

Many times teachers recognize ethnicity, culture, and language and use it to stereotype children. While it is important to consider these factors of the student’s identity as resources, it is never acceptable to make assumptions about individual students. For example, some Asian Pacific American students’ “culturally influenced, nondisruptive classroom behavior, along with the teacher’s stereotype of ‘good Asian students,’ … [can lead to him or] her not receiving appropriate instruction” (Delpit, 1995, p.171). Even though the teacher is assuming the student is more able than he or she is, the student is still being done a disservice because their needs are not met. Conversely, teachers can also use ethnicity, culture, and language to track minority students into programs meant for less able students. For Native American students, “The cultural deficit model continued to drive the engine programming education for students with ‘special needs.’ Many of these children were identified on the basis of their cultures and languages, not on the basis of their abilities” (Klug and Whitfield, 2003, p.41). This occurs not only for Native American students, but for other minority groups as well. Teachers often attribute limited Standard English production to be a sign of a student not being able or intelligent, and that is not the case in most situations. Similarly, understanding the role dialect plays will help provide new teaching approaches to enhance achievement in African American and other students (Charity, Scarborough, and Griffin, 2004). Many of these students are highly intelligent, and are tracked into special education or vocational programs instead of being given their rightful chance at an education because their language does not match the standard English dialect.

It is important to study the needs and special abilities of the diverse types of students encountered in today’s schools. In order to be effective and equitable teachers, it is necessary to provide instruction in a way that all students have a chance at success.

This means recognizing a student’s identity, and using it to empower rather than hold back.

Definitions

In order to continue, it is important to define the terms used in this paper so we can move forward with a consistent understanding of the author’s meaning.

Emergent Literacy is used here to refer to the early literacy experiences of young people just coming into their abilities as readers. It would refer to the early elementary grades, and deals mostly with ways in which students acquire the ability to read.

Wiencek, Cipielewski, Vazzano, and Sturken, (1998) define emergent literacy as “behaviors that precede and develop into conventional literacy” (p. 1).

Culture is a multifaceted word that we can use to mean many different things. It is not the same as ethnicity, or race, but rather encompasses the norms and values of a specific group of people. Delpit (1995) identified several aspects that make up culture, “…linguistic forms, communicative strategies… presentation of self; that is, ways of talking, ways of writing, ways of dressing, and ways of interacting” (p.25). Religion, country of origin, ethnicity, and many other factors all influence culture.

It is important to identify a distinction, though, between culture and ethnicity.

Ethnicity is used here to refer to a person’s race. Though race can not be defined genetically, it is a cultural construct that has a history of defining people in this country and in the world at large. It manifests itself in particular physical characteristics common in specific races. I used it here because it is a factor that has grouped people historically and continues to do so today. Race can be attached to culture, but it can also be a less strong influence on the culture of some students who may be part of a minority race, but part of the mainstream culture. There has been a long, unfortunately somewhat effective, history of attempts to eradicate minority cultures by the U.S. government. A teacher must not assume by the color of a child’s skin that his/her race is attached to a specific culture we might identify with that race, but rather understand that it might and learn from the child what their culture is.

Different terms were used to describe racial groups. Tatum (1997) preferred to use the terms that the people themselves prefer. The terms Native American, Native, and Indian are here used interchangeably. Many Native Americans use the term Indian or American Indian to describe themselves. Asian Pacific American is used to describe people of Asian descent, as well as the actual nationality when possible, such as Chinese or Chinese American. For African Americans, the preceding term, or Black, which many African Americans prefer, is used. Hispanic, Latino, or the country of origin is used to describe students from Mexico, Central, and South America, and the descendants of immigrants from these locations.

It was also important to define class. Here it was used to describe a person’s socioeconomic status, or their access to monetary resources and the benefits that go along with that.   Most teachers today work within a decidedly middle class system, though they work with children from both upper class and students living in poverty, or the poor working class. It is the students in poverty that this paper most concerned itself with.

There are students in situational poverty and generational poverty (Payne, 1996). Poverty does not deal only with the presence or absence of money, but with the cultural way people interact in different types of poverty, mainly situational and generational.

Situational poverty is a situation in which a person has most of the cultural resources from a middle class background, while a generational poverty situation is one in which the family has been poor for at least two generations. People from different financial backgrounds, including generational poverty, situational poverty, middle class, and wealth, will have much different resources to deal with the difficulties of life. There are ways of handling situations that have to do with financial, emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical resources, as well as relationships/role models to help you deal with problems and hidden rules of interactions for different classes that people from another group may not understand or be able to overcome. (Payne, 1996, p.7). Someone in situational poverty likely knows the hidden rules for the middle class, and has the resources that come along with it, if not the monetary resources. Often it is easier to escape situational poverty than generational poverty because of these resources.

Another term that may be used in this paper is African American English. This is the term Craig, Connor, and Washington (2003) used for the dialect spoken by many African Americans in this country. There are different terms used for this in different studies, such as Black Vernacular English or Ebonics, but the term African American English, or AAE, is used throughout the paper.

Multicultural literature is also addressed in this paper, and is often defined by “the character’s physical attributes, languages, and status as members of marginalized groups” (Harris, 2002, p. 368). The term can also define the author or illustrator of the book if he or she be of a minority group.

Another subject that comes up often in this research is Phonics and Phonemic or Phonological Awareness. Phonics can be defined as the association of letters (graphemes) with the phoneme (sound) it represents (Morrow, Holt, and Sass, 2002).

Phonemic or Phonological awareness is the ability of a student to identify the different sounds in oral words, and manipulate them.

 

Article 3. Last minute Christmas: cake kits

It’s still not too late to make a Christmas cake. Vicky Frost tests five kits and asks: can you actually fit a slice in on the big day?

It’s an odd part of the annual festivities: the bit that gets brought out once everything else has been devoured and you’re in need of more calories like the house is in need of more fairy lights. But a Christmas without Christmas cake would be unthinkable. Long after even the turkey remnants have gone and the new year diet should have started, you can still rely on there being a slab in the tin. In some families it can last until spring.

That’s partly because loads of people don’t like Christmas cake – screwing up their face at the cake, or the marzipan, or the cake and the marzipan. What fools! Personally, I’m fond of both in small amounts. But two slices is more than enough to last me until next year. Which is possibly why I’ve never been particularly moved to bake one from scratch.

My dad traditionally made our family cake, often procrastinating so much that he’d only get round to icing it on Christmas Eve while the rest of the family trouped off to midnight mass. That’s not such a terrible plan when you consider the likelihood of anyone having any room for cake after a massive Christmas lunch, or a Boxing Day trifle. But it does highlight the problem with making a Christmas cake – yet more faff at the busiest time of the year.

Which no doubt explains the popularity of the Christmas cake kit. A bag with everything you need to bake the perfect Christmas cake without weighing, overnight soaking and abandoned half bags of fruit. Except, you have to buy, erm, eggs, butter, lemons, and in most cases marzipan and icing – some would question whether it was worth buying a kit at all. That probably depends on whether you are ever likely to bust open the treacle, spices and flour ever again. If not, the kit is definitely worth it. If however you could be cajoled into making your own mincemeat with the leftover fruit, it might be worth reconsidering.

I tested five kits currently on the market. Tesco’s comes courtesy of Mary Berry – whose baking knowledge knows no bounds. It includes all the usual business you’d expect in the way of soaked fruits, chopped nuts, bagged spices, but also marzipan and icing. The result was disappointing in our blind taste tests – and I thought it rather a mean cake in terms of both plumpness and volume of fruit. Sorry Mary, but for once we will have to disagree.

Faring rather better was Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference kit, which had fruit so sticky and juicy it was veering into pudding territory. For me the balance of sponge and fruit tipped too far in favour of the raisin element. Others thought it tasted “like a fruitcake should do: dense and moist”. The Harrods cake also split opinion. On the upside, it comes with (fondant) icing and marzipan, and all the ingredients are packaged in a loose bottom cake tin. On the downside, you have to soak your own fruit, which rather defeats the object and means you need to factor in the cost of booze. The end result is a curious thing. Some of our testers liked it for the generous hunks of cherry that studded the sponge. But for me it was rather odd: an almost gingery cake with too little fruit.

Which leaves the two cakes that did best in the blind tasting, and in my home testing: Whitworth’s and Delia’s for Waitrose. Of the two, Delia’s is the more generous, giving a good, deep 20cm cake. It’s also the one that will please more people – here the sponge is light, the fruit sweet but not sticky, and the balance more in favour of cake than fruit. As an occasional fruitcake eater, it’s my favourite. More hardcore fruitcake fans, however, were quick to praise the Whitworth’s kit, which turns out a boozy, well-balanced cake that is firm enough to slice properly, but sticky enough to count as more fruit cake than tea loaf. Both will need you to buy your own icing and marzipan, but both really deliver when it comes to flavour.

Of course, it’s officially a bit late to be making your cake now, but there are tricks to help those intent on baking at the eleventh hour (any tips you’ve gleaned over the years are welcome). Jane Asher’s last minute recipe has it that heating and soaking the fruit in the boozy liquid gives an overnight appearance and taste of maturity. Using dark brown sugar helps. Delia offers a last minute sherry mincemeat cake recipe that can be made on the day itself (if you don’t have enough to do already) Or try making a lighter version, as the Cottage Smallholder suggests.

The DIY kits are now being reduced in price and mine tasted good in under three weeks, so I reckon you could get away with doing one now, especially if you don’t force it on yourself on Christmas Day when you’ll be too full to appreciate it. Treat everyone by instead cracking it open during those long holiday days in between Christmas and New Year. Or are you a committed Christmas foodster that stoically devours a slice of cake after the rest of the Christmas day feasting? [48]

 

Article 4. How do I: Secure my home wi-fi network?

Jamie Merrill

Thursday 15 December 2011

Most of us have stumbled into someone else’s unsecured wi-fi network by mistake in search of a stable connection, but not all surfers are so benign.

According to an “ethical hacking” study carried out by a card-protection company, nearly half of Britain’s home wi-fi networks can be hacked in less than five seconds, leaving the hacker free to hijack emails, steal bank account details and commit fraud.

We tend to think of hackers as sophisticated criminal networks but all it takes is a modern laptop and widely available software to breach most home computer networks.

Your first line of defence for your home network is its encryption, which secures the data transmitted between your PC and wireless router. Unfortunately, until recently the majority of routers were shipped with encryption disabled or only installed with WEP, an out-of-date encryption format.

If you haven’t already, enable your encryption. To do this you need to connect your router to your PC with a LAN cable (from £5.99 at maplin.co.uk). Then simply open your PC’s web browser and enter your IP address (normally found on the back of the router).

The interface will vary depending on the model of your router (see manufacturers’ websites for more details) but if your computer is up to date – Windows XP or later – select the WPA or WPA2 form of encryption and create your own unique password of at least 14 letters and numbers. If your router only supports the insecure WEP format check the manufacturer’s website for a firmware update to support WPA.

And for additional protection consider running a software firewall on your PC. A good free download is Zone Labs’ ZoneAlarm, which is reliable and free to download (zonealarm) [51].

 

Article 5. Haemophilia gene therapy shows early success

By James Gallagher Health reporter, BBC News

11 December 2011 Last updated at 03:13 GMT

Just one injection could be enough to mean people with haemophilia B no longer need medication, according to an early study in the UK and the US. Six patients were given a virus that infects the body with the blueprints needed to produce blood-clotting proteins. Four of them could then stop taking their drugs.

Doctors said the gene therapy was “potentially life-changing”. Other researchers have described it as a “truly a landmark study.”

People with haemophilia B have an error in their genetic code, which means they cannot produce a protein called factor IX, which is critical for blood-clotting.

Patients are currently treated with factor IX injections, sometimes multiple times per week, but the manufacturing process is expensive.

Researchers at University College London and St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the US were looking for a more permanent solution.

Virus modification

They took a virus which infects people without symptoms – adeno-associated virus eight. It was then modified to infect liver cells with the genetic material for factor IX. The gene should then persist in the liver cells, telling the cells to manufacture the protein.

Six people were injected with the modified virus at the Royal Free Hospital in London. Two were given a low dose, two a middle dose and two a high level.

Results published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed levels of factor IX could be increased. Normally, patients will have factor IX levels less than 1% of those found in people without haemophilia.

After injection, levels of factor IX ranged from 2% to 12%. The first patient treated has maintained levels of 2% for more than 16 months. One of the patients receiving the highest dose maintained levels which fluctuated between 8% and 12% for 20 weeks.

Carl Walker, aged 26 and from Berkshire, showed the greatest improvement. He said: “I have not needed any of my normal treatment, either preventative or on-demand as a result of an injury. Previously, I used to infuse at home three times a week. I play football, run and take part in triathlons – and previously I might have had to infuse both before I took part and possibly after as well. Not having to do that has been absolutely brilliant.”

Dr Amit Nathwani from University College London told the BBC that patients with 12% of normal factor IX production would no longer be seen in the clinic.

“They would be able to go about their normal daily lives without any problems. The only time that they would have a problem is if they were involved in a road traffic accident or had a big fall from a building site. In the absence of severe major trauma these individuals would not know that they have haemophilia.”

He said the aim of the research was to take patients from a severe form of haemophilia to a mild one.

‘Fantastic start’

“All the patients have actually benefited from this gene transfer approach, even the patients who have not been able to stop protein concentrate infusion [normal therapy].”

He said these people needed fewer injections of factor IX.

“This is the first study that has shown that you can actually achieve stable, long-term, therapeutic level of expression [factor IX production] in subjects with severe haemophilia B, so it’s a fantastic start.

“This is a great breakthrough, this is the first time that anybody has been able to show that.”

The trial was designed to test the safety of the procedure. Trials in more patients will be needed to fully determine its effectiveness and patients will need to be followed for longer periods of time to see how long the effect lasts.

There was an immune response against the infected liver cells around seven to nine weeks after the virus was injected. In the trial it was controlled with steroids, but doctors will also want to see if they can avoid it happening.

Dr Katherine Ponder, from the Washington University School of Medicine, said this was “truly a landmark study, since it is the first to achieve long-term expression of a blood protein at therapeutically relevant levels”.

She added: “If further studies determine that this approach is safe, it may replace the cumbersome and expensive protein therapy currently used for patients.”

Chris James, chief executive of the Haemophilia Society, said: “The society is delighted to see world-class research in the UK which may ultimately provide therapies to improve the life of those with haemophilia showing such positive results at this stage.

“These are early days and all medical and scientific developments need to go through extensive testing for efficacy and side effects. As such we would not wish to raise false hopes at this stage. However, we hope that this research will eventually result in the removal of the need for regular injections and significantly reduce painful bleeds and debilitating joint damage for those living with haemophilia.” [27]

Article 1. Twilight’ Beats Newcomers at Box Office’

By BROOKS BARNES

Published: November 27, 2011

LOS ANGELES — A family film free-for-all over the holiday weekend ended with puppets doing cartwheels, elves wondering what went wrong and Martin Scorsese somewhere in between.

Hollywood’s five-day Thanksgiving sales period — considered crucial to generating momentum through Christmas — was not as bountiful as studio officials had hoped. Ticket sales totaled about $234 million, an 11 percent decline from the same stretch last year, according to Hollywood.com, which compiles ticketing data.

The No. 1 movie was a holdover: “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1” (Summit Entertainment) took in an estimated $62.3 million during the long weekend for a two-week total of $221.3 million.

Among new releases “The Muppets” (Walt Disney Studios) was the top performer, placing second over all with estimated ticket sales of $42 million. That was a big win for Kermit, Miss Piggy and their pals, who have languished in recent years; their last box-office outing was the 1999 flop “Muppets From Space.” Sweetening the victory was the film’s relatively inexpensive price; “The Muppets” cost about $45 million to make.

Directed by James Bobin, a big-screen newcomer, “The Muppets” generated positive reviews and received an A in audience exit polls. “Nostalgia helped, but existing fans can sometimes make your job more difficult,” said Dave Hollis, Disney’s executive vice president for distribution. “You have to bring a great experience because people are comparing it to their memories.”

The dancing penguins of “Happy Feet Two” (Warner Brothers) were third, taking in about $18.4 million for a disappointing two-week total of nearly $44 million. Also delivering subpar results were the elves of “Arthur Christmas,” which cost Sony Pictures Entertainment about $100 million to make but placed fourth with about $17 million in ticket sales.

Sony compared its well-reviewed “Arthur Christmas” with two movies that were initially considered bombs — “The Polar Express” (2004) and “Disney’s A Christmas Carol” (2009) — but ended their domestic runs with less dismal totals. “As moviegoers start to shift into the end-of-the-year holiday mode, we know we will continue to play solidly,” Steve Elzer, a Sony spokesman, said by e-mail.

Mr. Scorsese’s 3-D “Hugo,” a Paramount Pictures and GK Films release based on the children’s book “The Invention of Hugo Cabret,” took in about $15.4 million for fifth place. It also received outstanding reviews and managed to keep pace despite playing in only 1,277 theaters. (“Happy Feet Two,” by comparison, was booked into 3,611 locations.)

The problem: “Hugo” was enormously expensive to make, costing $150 million to $170 million. Paramount hopes that strong word of mouth will deliver solid results as “Hugo” reaches more theaters.

On the art-house front Oscar contenders like “The Descendants,” “My Week with Marilyn,” “A Dangerous Method” and “The Artist” all attracted solid audiences. “The Artist,” a $14 million black-and-white silent film from the Weinstein Company, stood out. Playing in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles starting Friday, it had a per-screen average of $52,604, one of the year’s best results for the specialty marketplace; total sales were $210,414.

Also noteworthy was the performance of “The Descendants,” which stars George Clooney as a father coping with problems of mortality and real estate. That Fox Searchlight movie, playing in limited release, took in $9.2 million for a two-week total of $10.7 million. Sheila DeLoach, Searchlight’s executive vice president for distribution, said the studio was “extremely encouraged” to see the film do well in suburban theaters [56].

 

Article 2. College Students Replace Poverty With Creativity

By JENNIFER CONLIN

Published: November 25, 2011

A one-stop destination for Times fashion coverage and the latest from the runways.

“I did not want to ask my parents for more money,” said Ms. Malyshev, a sophomore at Northeastern in Boston, where yearly tuition runs $51,000 with room and board. A Craigslist posting for a hair model looked like an easy $250.

There was a catch. “To earn the $250, I had to let them do anything they wanted to my hair,” said Ms. Malyshev, who walked in with long, sleek blond tresses and emerged a few hours later a brunette with shaggy bangs and layers. “From now on, I plan to stick to psychological testing,” she said, referring to the roughly $20 an hour she often makes filling out university research questionnaires. (“Harvard pays the best in the Boston area,” she added.)

There is plenty of pain to go around in this economy. But college students, the generation facing the dual misery of unprecedented tuition levels and grim employment prospects after graduation, are feeling a special sting. As a result, penny-pinching and creative cash accumulation are becoming something like campus sports.

Mira Hager, a sophomore at Macalester College in St. Paul, carries an ample supply of cash from home so she can avoid the $3 withdrawal fees at local A.T.M.’s. She saved $300 by borrowing many of her textbooks from the library, rather than buying them. She also works a campus job nine hours a week as a building manager but has a better plan for next year. “I plan to work campus events, where you sometimes get free food,” she said.

Kasey Cox, a junior at the University of Michigan, brings a travel mug of coffee filled with her own home brew to the cafe she likes to study in and pretends she bought it there. She also frequently attends club meetings or seminars that provide refreshments, and she has an eagle eye for special offers. “On my birthday this year, I hit up five different places in town that give out free things or birthday deals,” she said.

Grigory Lukin, 25, the author of the 99-cent e-book “Going to College Without Going Broke,” recommends student clubs for more than the free food. When he was a student at the University of Nevada, Reno, he joined a community service club that held its annual meeting during spring break. “Our club had several sponsors, so we ended up paying just $20 each for a three-day weekend in a four-star hotel,” he said. “A lot of student clubs have these free, or almost free, trips, but they don’t like to advertise them for obvious reasons.”

According to Martin Dasko, 24, the founder of Studenomics, a Web site he started as a senior at Ryerson University in Toronto, there is no reason students should not be able to save money in college. “If students have time for Facebook and TV, they have time for a campus job,” he said. Mr. Dasko said his Web site gets between 1,000 and 2,000 hits a day, many of them from students asking about online jobs, like tutoring (for that, he recommends studentoffortune). “But I also get a lot of hits from students searching ‘free drinking’ and ‘how to date with no money,’ ” he said, laughing.

“Just get a job.” [57]

 

The study of Parenthesis reveals that it is as a multifaceted linguistic phenomenon embracing paradigmatically and syntactically heterogeneous units.

According to the semantic characteristics Parenthesis can be divided into the following groups: sequence, addition, personal or other people’s opinion, comparison, contrast, reinforcement, explanation, classification, alternative ideas, cause / reason, result, concluding.

Concerning structural characteristics of Parenthesis two important criteria should be taken into consideration: Syntactical and Morphological aspects.

In terms of syntax, Parenthesis can be presented as a single word, a phrase, a word combination, a sentence and it can be separated by commas, dashes or brackets.

In terms of morphology, Parenthesis can be expressed by viewpoint/comment adverbs, modal words, conjuncts, prepositional phrases, participle clauses, infinitive clauses.

As regards the analysis of positional peculiarities of the Parenthesis, it was investigated on two levels: on the sentence and text level. On the sentence level the Parenthesis can be embedded in the host syntactic structure at the beginning, in the middle or at the end. Similarly, on the text level Parentheses can occupy the initial, the mid- or final position.

The main functions assigned to Parenthesis are the following:

• to add figures or letters marking the division of a subject;
• to enclose words not directly relevant to the main topic of the sentence but too important to omit;
• to indicate an equivalent entity with parenthetical punctuation;
• to give examples, definitions, explanations, alternative ideas;
• to introduce personal opinion and attitude to some facts or events;
• to reinforce the sense of the whole context in the sentence;
• to show the reason, result, conclusion.

On the basis of newspaper articles the syntactic usage of different parenthetical types was researched. The results of the analysis lead to conclude that Parentheses indicating supplementary information, addition, background data, comments and personal opinion, definition and explanation of the facts, events are abundantly used in publicistic style. Parentheses expressed by stance adverbs qualifying a standpoint, including epistemic, evaluative and illocutionary adverbs, are characterized by the highest frequency of occurrence in the texts analysed, which can be regarded as a prominent characteristic of the language of newspapers.

This structural type of Parenthesis is overwhelmingly dominant over the other structural types discussed in the paper.

Another conspicuous feature of newspaper style is an extensive use of parenthetical clauses. They are intended to either show one’s personal attitude to or opinion of what is being said, or direct attention to what is being said. Such clauses may be patterned like different communicative types of sentences or clauses – statements, questions, imperative or exclamatory sentences or clauses. Pragmatically, the embedded structure acquires a secondary status, informing the reader of the author’s opinion of the utterance, or containing some comment on the content of the embedding sentence, or else addressing the reader directly. The embedding structure is primary in importance and structurally independent.

Parentheses expressed by conjuncts, unlike stance adverbs and parenthetical clauses, serve to maintain a coherent point of view and mark semantic relationships between propositions expressed by different clauses, such as comparison, contrast, concession, reason, result, addition, enumeration, transition. Therefore, they perform a wide range of functions in the sentence: listing, enumerative, additive, summative, appositive, resultative (inferential), antithetic, concessive, temporal.

 

REFERENCES

Bach K., Harnish R. Linguistic communication and speech acts. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1979.

Biber D., Johansson S., Leech G., Conrad S., Finegan E. The Longman grammar of spoken and written English. London: Longman, 1999

Biber D., Johansson S., Leech G., Conrad S., Finegan E. The Longman grammar of spoken and written English. London: Longman, 1990.

Blokh M.Y. A Course in Theoretical English Grammar. – Moscow, 1983.

Eastwood J. Oxford Practice Grammar. Intermediate. – Oxford University Press, 2006.

Huddleston R., Pullum G. The Cambridge grammar of the English language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002

Quirk R., Greenbaum S. A University Grammar of the English. – London: Longman, 1973.

Quirk R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G., & Svartvik, J. A comprehensive grammar of the English language. London, Longman, 1985.

Ramat P., Ricca D. Sentence adverbs in the language of Europe. In J. van der Auwera & D. Ó. Baoill (Eds.), Adverbial constructions in the languages of Europe. Amsterdam: Walter de Gruyter, 1998. – 187-276

Rayevska N.M. Modern English Grammar. – Kyiv, 1976.

Sinclair, J. (Ed.). Collins COBUILD English grammar. London: Longman, 1990.

Skipper M. Advanced Grammar & Vocabulary. Student’s book. – Newbury: Express Publishing, 2002.

Thomson A.J., Martinet A.V. A Practical English Grammar. – Oxford University Press, 1986.

Watkins F.C., Martin E.T., Willingham W.B. Practical English Handbook. / Second edition – Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1965.

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged. – HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

Macmillan English Dictionary for advanced learners. – Town Roads, Oxford: Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2002

This part of the diploma paper is concerned with the functioning of different parenthetical types in publicist style. The examples were collected by means of running selection from Newsweek, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The BBC News. Some of the articles under analysis are presented in the Appendix.

Before proceeding with the analysis of the Parenthetical functioning in the context of different articles, it is worth presenting the scheme according to which characteristics will be identified.

Firstly, the semantic characteristics should be given, so the semantic group should be defined:

Sequence;

• Addition;
• Personal or other people’s opinion;
• Comparison;
• Contrast;
• Reinforcement;
• Explanation;

Classification;

Alternative ideas;

Cause / Reason;

Result;

Concluding.

Secondly, structural characteristics must be mentioned. As regards syntax, the syntactical structure (word, phrase, clause, sentence) of Parenthesis and punctuation will be examined. As regards morphology, the means of expressing Parenthesis (conjunct, modal word, commenting/ viewpoint adverb, infinitival clause, participial clause, clause) will be under investigation.

The first article (see Appendix) Twilight ‘Beats Newcomers at Box Office’ includes a number of Parentheses and Parenthetical constructions.

Hollywood’s five-day Thanksgiving sales period — considered crucial to generating momentum through Christmas — was not as bountiful as studio officials had hoped. In this sentence the Parenthesis ‘considered crucial to generating momentum through Christmas’ is presented as a clause and functions as interruption of main idea, it illustrates author’s comment and attitude to the event described in the main clause. Parenthesis is used in the middle of the sentence and is marked out with dashes.

The following three sentences present Parenthesis as additional adjustment. In the brackets the names of cinema companies (Summit Entertainment, Walt Disney Studios, Warner Brothers) function as supplemental information which indicates the producer of the exact film. They are given just after the name of film in the middle of the sentence.

1. The No. 1 movie was a holdover: “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1” (Summit Entertainment) took in an estimated $62.3 million during the long weekend for a two-week total of $221.3 million.
2. Among new releases “The Muppets” (Walt Disney Studios) was the top performer, placing second over all with estimated ticket sales of $42 million.
3. The dancing penguins of “Happy Feet Two” (Warner Brothers) were third, taking in about $18.4 million for a disappointing two-week total of nearly $44 million.

The next sentence include at once two Parentheses. The one is “The Polar Express” (2004) and “Disney’s A Christmas Carol” (2009). It acts as example and explanation to the main clause and is isolated with dashes from it. Another one is the variant of Parenthesis specifying additional information. In the brackets added years (2004, 2009) when the films were produced. They follow after the subject they belong to.

Sony compared its well-reviewed “Arthur Christmas” with two movies that were initially considered bombs — “The Polar Express” (2004) and “Disney’s A Christmas Carol” (2009) — but ended their domestic runs with less dismal totals.

The Parenthesis given in the next case stands apart as separate sentence in the brackets. Here it functions as additional background information. The Parenthesis exemplifies some movie for comparison.

It also received outstanding reviews and managed to keep pace despite playing in only 1,277 theaters. (“Happy Feet Two,” by comparison, was booked into 3,611 locations.)

The Parenthesis in the following sentence can be considered both as Parenthesis and as non-restrictive Apposition. It explains the occupation of the person Sheila DeLoach, enters new information. It is presented in the middle of the sentence and is marked out with commas.

Sheila DeLoach, Searchlight’s executive vice president for distribution, said the studio was “extremely encouraged” to see the film do well in suburban theaters.

In the second article College Students Replace Poverty with Creativity some other types of Parenthesis are shown.

The ensuing sentence gives the example of Parenthesis, which also can be non-restrictive Apposition. It presents the supplement data who is Mr. Malyshev. Besides, there is Parenthesis in Parenthesis, as the clause ‘where yearly tuition runs $51,000 with room and board’ illustrates complementary description of Boston, which introduces urgent information for that case.

 “I did not want to ask my parents for more money,” said Ms. Malyshev, a sophomore at Northeastern in Boston, where yearly tuition runs $51,000 with room and board.

Parenthesis stands in the end of the sentence and is isolated by comma.

The following case introduces Parenthesis as background comment on the situation. It is given in the brackets as separate sentence and presented as direct speech.

“From now on, I plan to stick to psychological testing,” she said, referring to the roughly $20 an hour she often makes filling out university research questionnaires. (“Harvard pays the best in the Boston area,” she added.)

In the next case a couple of Parentheses are worth paying attention. Firstly, it is the parenthetical phrase ‘the generation facing the dual misery of unprecedented tuition levels and grim employment prospects after graduation’. Here the supplemental intelligence about college student is provided. It is used in the middle of the sentence and is marked out with commas.

But college students, the generation facing the dual misery of unprecedented tuition levels and grim employment prospects after graduation, are feeling a special sting. As a result, penny-pinching and creative cash accumulation are becoming something like campus sports.

 Secondly, here another Parenthesis ‘as a result’ is presented. According to the semantic characteristics, it can belong to sequence or resultant type. It denotes sequence as the succession of events is presented in the context and it emphasizes the result as the consequence is shown. This Parenthesis stands in the initial position in the sentence, isolated by comma, and it is presented as nominal phrase.

In the sentence ‘When he was a student at the University of Nevada, Reno, he joined a community service club that held its annual meeting during spring break’ the Parenthesis is presented by the name of the city (Reno). It explains the location of the university, naming the city it belongs to. The Parenthesis stands in the middle of the sentence, marked out with commas and denoted by single word.

The Parenthesis ‘so’ in the following example marks the result. It is presented by summative conjunct, which stands in the middle of the sentence and isolated by comma.

“Our club had several sponsors, so we ended up paying just $20 each for a three-day weekend in a four-star hotel,” he said.

The next sentence includes the Parenthesis giving additional information about internet resource solving students’ problems. It is used in the end of the sentence and presented as separate sentence in brackets.

Mr. Dasko said his Web site gets between 1,000 and 2,000 hits a day, many of them from students asking about online jobs, like tutoring (for that, he recommends studentoffortune.com).

The sentence ‘According to Martin Dasko, 24, the founder of Studenomics, a Web site he started as a senior at Ryerson University in Toronto, there is no reason students should not be able to save money in college’ includes complicated Parenthetical construction that consists of Detachment (According to Martin Dasko) and two Parentheses: the first one is ‘24’, and the second one is ‘the founder of Studenomics.com’. The last one can also function as Apposition. In this case every component of the Parenthesis gives additional information. The detachment shows the source of information; the Apposition adds the data of age and achievement of the person.

The third article Last minute Christmas: cake kits also include a number of Parentheses.

The sentence ‘Personally, I’m fond of both in small amounts’ involves the Parenthesis ‘personally’ which stands in the initial position of the sentence. It is presented by viewpoint adverb indicating author’s own opinion.

 In the following sentence the Parenthesis ‘yet more faff at the busiest time of the year’ displays the author’s explanation of the time and events expressed in the main clause. Here Parenthesis is used in the end of the sentence and marked out with a dash.

But it does highlight the problem with making a Christmas cake – yet more faff at the busiest time of the year.

The sentence ‘Except, you have to buy, erm, eggs, butter, lemons, and in most cases marzipan and icing – some would question whether it was worth buying a kit at all’ represents two cases of its usage. First Parenthesis ‘except’ stands in the initial position and separated with comma. This Parenthesis is presented by additive conjunct. According to the semantic characteristics, it belongs to the group of reinforcement as makes the listener or reader pay attention to the following information.

The next sentence includes the Parenthesis ‘whose baking knowledge knows no bounds’. It stands in the end of the sentence and isolated by a dash. It is expressed by the clause which functions as author’s background comment and explanation to abilities of Mary Berry.

Tesco’s comes courtesy of Mary Berry – whose baking knowledge knows no bounds.

In the following sentence two Parentheses can be observed. At the beginning of the sentence Parenthesis ‘of course’ is used separated by comma from the rest of the sentence. It belongs to the semantic group of reinforcement as it intensifies the intelligence given next. In the end of the sentence in brackets another Parenthesis is given. It functions as background supplementary information.

Of course, it’s officially a bit late to be making your cake now, but there are tricks to help those intent on baking at the eleventh hour (any tips you’ve gleaned over the years are welcome).

In the middle of the sentence ‘Delia offers a last minute sherry mincemeat cake recipe that can be made on the day itself (if you don’t have enough to do already) or try making a lighter version, as the Cottage Smallholder suggests’ the Parenthesis presented as isolated by brackets clause. It is used as author’s interrupting the main idea background comment, expressing his attitude to the events.

In the fourth article ‘How do I: Secure my home wi-fi network?’ several usages of the Parenthesis are applied.

In the next sentence detachment ‘According to an “ethical hacking” study carried out by a card-protection company’ functions as the Parenthesis. It is used at the beginning of the sentence and marked out with comma. It adds the source of in information in the main clause.

According to an “ethical hacking” study carried out by a card-protection company, nearly half of Britain’s home wi-fi networks can be hacked in less than five seconds, leaving the hacker free to hijack emails, steal bank account details and commit fraud.

The sentence ‘Unfortunately, until recently the majority of routers were shipped with encryption disabled or only installed with WEP, an out-of-date encryption format’ shows the usage of the Parenthesis, expressed by a viewpoint adverb. It denotes attitude to what will be said next. This Parenthesis stands at the beginning of the sentence and is separated by comma.

The following two sentences include Parentheses isolated by brackets and given in the end of the sentence. They illustrate supplementary information.

(1) To do this you need to connect your router to your PC with a LAN cable (from £5.99 at maplin.co.uk).

(2) Then simply open your PC’s web browser and enter your IP address (normally found on the back of the router).

The sentence ‘The interface will vary depending on the model of your router (see manufacturers’ websites for more details) but if your computer is up to date – Windows XP or later – select the WPA or WPA2 form of encryption and create your own unique password of at least 14 letters and numbers’ shows the usage of two Parentheses. Both are inserted in the middle of the sentence. The first one taken into the brackets acts as a comment and an advice on the information in the main clause. The second one isolated by dashes functions as more accurate definition to the subject.

In the next sentence the Parenthesis presented in brackets gives the complementary data of the internet source. It stands in the end of the sentence.

A good free download is Zone Labs’ Zone Alarm, which is reliable and free to download.

In the fifth article ‘Haemophilia gene therapy shows early success’ several Parentheses are presented.

In the sentence the detachment ‘according to an early study in the UK and the US’ functions as the Parenthesis. It is used in the end of the sentence and marked out with comma. It adds the source of in information in the main clause. Just one injection could be enough to mean people with hemophilia B no longer need medication, according to an early study in the UK and the US.

The sentence below illustrates the use of the Parenthesis, expressing author’s comment on the facts. It indicates his opinion and attitude. The Parenthesis stands at the beginning of the sentence and isolated by comma.

Normally, patients will have factor IX levels less than 1% of those found in people without hemophilia.

The next sentence demonstrates complementary information about person (Carl Walker), shows his parentage and age. It is used in the middle of the sentence and divided by commas.

Carl Walker, aged 26 and from Berkshire, showed the greatest improvement. He said: “I have not needed any of my normal treatment, either preventative or on-demand as a result of an injury.

In the sentence ‘All the patients have actually benefited from this gene transfer approach, even the patients who have not been able to stop protein concentrate infusion [normal therapy]’ the Parenthesis [normal therapy] used as definition to the scientific term. It stands in the end of the sentence, taken in brackets.

The sentence below includes two Parentheses. The Parenthesis [factor IX production] presents in brackets the scientific term, functioning as supplement to the main clause. Another Parenthesis ‘so’ in the following example marks the result. It is presented by summative conjunct, which stands in the middle of the sentence and isolated by comma.

“This is the first study that has shown that you can actually achieve stable, long-term, therapeutic level of expression [factor IX production] in subjects with severe hemophilia B, so it’s a fantastic start.

In the sentence ‘However, we hope that this research will eventually result in the removal of the need for regular injections and significantly reduce painful bleeds and debilitating joint damage for those living with hemophilia’ there is the Parenthesis in initial position, marked out by comma. It is presented by concessive conjunct. It fills the sentence with the sense of the concession.

The next sentences include the Parentheses which explain the information in the main clause, in particular, give data which defines more precisely the subjects. They stand in the middle of the sentences and are marked out by commas.

Dr Katherine Ponder, from the Washington University School of Medicine, said this was “truly a landmark study, since it is the first to achieve long-term expression of a blood protein at therapeutically relevant levels”.

Infinitival and adverbial parentheses tend to occupy the initial position in the sentence and are generally separated by commas.

Perhaps more crucially, he reached out and made a strategic accommodation with many Sunni groups that had once fought US troops. To put it bluntly, he talked to our enemies [Newsweek].

To make matters worse, in many places local officials and construction bosses took cuts of construction money for themselves, leaving even less cash for proper building [Newsweek].

Adverbs functioning as parenthesis are often used in the mid-sentence position, and are usually separated by commas, unless followed by the infinitive.

The Republican electorate is tired of boring and prudent respectability. The Republican establishment, presumably, is decidedly not tired of those things, especially since respectability often equates to electability [Newsweek].

Bachmann has also called a news conference for later Wednesday morning, presumably to announce her departure from the race [Newsweek].

But the politicians insisted, bewilderingly, that, on the one hand, we had enough helicopters and, on the other hand, every effort to get the extra helicopters we didn’t need out to Afghanistan was being made [Newsweek]

Sarkozy has yet to declare his widely expected bid for re-election, instead launching controversial new reforms, ostensibly to draw attention from his poor record, while Hollande has yet to release his presidential platform [Newsweek].

The results of the research that was conducted reveal the abundant use of parenthetical clauses in publicistic style. These are usually separated by dashes and supply additional information which has bearing on the message conveyed or topic discussed.

But once the coveted rating seemed lost – pundits as early as November pointed to record interest-rate spreads with Germany to claim France’s golden rating was effectively already gone- its importance was suddenly, dramatically downplayed [Newsweek].

A parenthetical clause interrupts another sentence with which it is either not connected syntactically or is only loosely connected with separate parts of the sentence [4].

Parenthetical clauses are often called comment clauses, because they do not simply add to the information given in the sentence, but comment on its truth, the manner of saying it, or express the attitude of the speaker toward it. In some cases it is direct address to the listener or reader [4].

He waited (which was his normal occupation) and thought, like other citizens, of the cost of living… In this example some information is added.

…there is, as it were, a transparent barrier between myself and strong emotions. In this sentence the figurative meaning of the utterance is indicated.

My parents, you know, were peasants. Here Parenthesis directs address to the listener.

Parenthetical clauses may be patterned like independent sentences, coordinate, main, or subordinate clauses. In all cases the mechanism of turning a sentence or clause into a Parenthesis is the same – the inverting of their usual sequence or placing the parenthetical clause in an unusual position, which changes their communicative value. The embedded structure acquires a secondary status, informing the reader of the author’s opinion of the utterance, or containing some comment on the content of the embedding sentence, or else addressing the reader directly. The embedding structure is primary in importance and structurally independent. The following sentences may be taken as examples [4]:

A parenthetical clause patterned like an independent sentence.

Although the evening was still light – we dined early – the lamps were on.

A parenthetical clause patterned like a coordinate clause.

She cooked – and she was a good cook – and marketed and chatted with the delivery boys.

A parenthetical clause patterned like an adverbial clause of manner.

As you put it, it sounds convincing.

A parenthetical clause patterned like an attributive clause.

Does your objection to tea (which I do frightfully want) mean that we’re unlikely to be alone?

A parenthetical clause patterned like an adverbial clause of condition

Mr. Ford – if this was now to be his name – walked slowly up to the counter.

Parenthetical clauses may be patterned like different communicative types of sentences or clauses – statements, questions, imperative or exclamatory sentences or clauses. For example:

It was – why hadn’t he noticed it before? – beginning to be an effort for her to hold her back straight. In this case a parenthetical clause patterned like a why-question [4].

I felt – such curious shapes egoism fakes! – that they had come because of me. Here a parenthetical clause patterned like an exclamatory sentence [Kubrina].

Clauses as means of Parenthesis are used to separate expressions inserted in the body of a sentence. In different situations they can carry various meanings and denote different functions. The most important their functions are:

Expressing personal mental activity Clauses patterned like main clauses with verbs of saying and those denoting mental activity are included to this group.

But is it possible to single out such clauses as parenthetical ones?

The linguistic elements that may be used for the purpose of the realization of a standpoint in discourse are the ones that can be both syntactically and semantically detached from the rest of the elements of the utterance in which they appear [55].

A linguistic element is syntactically detached when it occurs in various positions within the same sentence, without rendering that sentence ungrammatical:

I suppose, your house is very old.

Your house is, I suppose, very old.

Your house is very old, I suppose.

In the above example, the parenthetical verb I suppose can appear in all three positions without affecting the grammaticality of the sentence or changing its meaning [55].

A linguistic element is semantically detached when its presence or absence does not alter the core meaning of the sentence:

To cut a long story short, she left.

She left.

Wisely, Jane did not answer my letter.

Jane did not answer my letter.

In the above examples, the presence or absence of the non-finite clause to cut a long story short or of the adverb wisely does not change the information that the speaker conveys. On the contrary, in the following utterances the presence or absence of the non-finite clause or of the adverb conveys a different message:

She asked him to cut a long story short.

She asked him.

Jane did not answer my letter wisely.

Jane did not answer my letter.

As the constructed examples above show, the syntactic and semantic detachability is not necessarily a property of certain linguistic elements but rather a feature of the specific use that can be made of these linguistic elements. This means that it is not a semantic or syntactic property of finite and non-finite clauses or of adverbs, for example, to be detached, rather that a finite clause or adverb can be used in a detached way in certain cases, and not in others [55].

That’s why, it’s quite possible to rate among this group of clauses the following phrases.

There are examples of using such clauses:

I mean – they’re, they’re entitled to, I suppose, interpret stuff as they must [COCA, SPOK, 2011]

Those of us who teach women’s studies, I believe, have a responsibility to ask the tough questions about women in leadership, while at the same time preparing our students to lead – and to lead with honesty, empathy, respect and courage [COCA, MAG, 2011].

My wife, a literal saint (I mean, a real saint) lets Brigid sleep next to her and deals with the mess with total aplomb [COCA, MAG, 2011].

Showing personal attitude to what is said

The following clauses can also be used for giving personal attitude.

Examples:

As far as I can see, the only disadvantage to having a pregnant lady around the home is that it’s always your turn to get up [COCA, FIC, 2006].

I think it’s going to take a lot of time and I don’t think – I agree with you, you don’t want to go cutting crazy now in the sense that if you’re going to hurt the economy [COCA, SPOK, 2011].

Trying to direct somebody’s attention

Quite a number of parenthetical clauses are stereotyped conversation formulas, used to attract the listener’s attention or to show the reaction of the speaker and to catch the listener’s attention, to accentuate on what is said:

You know, You see/I see, You just imagine

So, you know, you don’t want to sound – you don’t want to blame somebody else for a mistake that you made [COCA, SPOK, 2007].

You see, our timing has always been off [COCA, FIC, 2011].

Making an interruption

This group consists of clauses, which are paste in the sentence to interrupt or to step aside from the main idea. For example:

He had no experience as a counselor – he’d be the first to tell you that – having taken a teaching degree in studio art. In his other life, after school hours, he made collages and watercolors and paintings; he’d framed one small, blurry, burnt orange rectangle and propped it on his desk corner where the other counselors would have displayed bland smiley photos of their spouses and children [COCA, FIC, 2011].

Supplementing the information in the main clause

To this group belong clauses, which carry some comments, personal thoughts and attitude of the author to what was said in the main sentence. For instance:

The family’s house, on a golf course 30 miles from the Strip, is a relatively modest four-bedroom affair (although it’s worth noting that they have two other homes, including a $20 million spread in Florida with its own water park, and Dion will be spending only part of her time in Vegas) [COCA, MAG, 2011].

Pasting the definition or explanation

This group includes clauses which give some additional explanation, definition of some unknown item in the text:

Several of those caught up in the probe say they expect the number of midshipmen who will be ” separated ” – the term academy officials use for expulsion – to reach more than a dozen [COCA, NEWS, 2011].

In 2009, the luxury-goods industry saw a 23 percent increase in online abuse, including “cyber squatting,” the term given to Web sites that unlawfully incorporate a brand’s name into their domain name and sell counterfeit versions of their products [COCA, MAG, 2011].

The participle is a non-finite form of the verb which has verbal, adjectival and adverbial properties. There are two participles in English: Present Participle (or Participle I) and Past Participle (or Participle II). Present Participle is formed by adding the ending -ing to the infinitive without the participle to [1, 102]. Past Participle is formed by adding the ending –ed to the infinitive without the participle to.

Participial clauses often express condition, reason, cause, result or time in a similar way to full adverbial clauses, only more economically.

Condition:

Used sparingly, the Franklin fund (which charges a 2.25 percent sales commission) can help diversify a portfolio [COCA, NEWS, 2003].

Reason:

Desiring peace, she reached for his hand [COCA, FIC, 2008].

Cause:

Having taken one of his primary responsibilities quite seriously – the hiring of a new head of school from outside the Bullis community – Pensky, founder and then president of his expanding Britches of Georgetown clothing company, researched board literature and what it said about not only independent school boards but also about boards of other nonprofits [COCA, ACAD, 2006].

Means:

Using this approach, I’ve built a portfolio of more than 40 articles in 12 Pacific Northwest travel magazines and newspapers, which has further opened up travel-writing opportunities in international magazines and a regional in flight [COCA, ACAD, 2011].

Time:

Taking a breath, she squares her shoulders and reaches for the phone [COCA, FIC, 2011].

Semantically Participial clauses can express:

Communication (used as breaking into a conversation, paying attention on some important things). The next verbs can be used:

Agree, Deny, Disagree, Speak/ Talk about, Say, Judge, Regard

Well, talking about what Marc Klaas just said, do you feel that this was foul play, or do you feel that she’s alive somewhere, part of the homeless population or someone that just had to get away [COCA, SPOK, 2011]?

Should the federal government try to coerce the seceding states, the governor warned, ” Missouri will not be found to shrink from the duty which her position upon the border imposes: her honor, her interests, and her sympathies point alike in one direction, and determine her to stand by the South. ” (Judging by printed sources, Jackson seems to have been a man who spoke frequently in italics [COCA, ACAD, 2011].)

 Regarding the mode of teaching of English, the participants expressed their dissatisfaction with the manner in which their courses are delivered [COCA, ACAD, 2011].

Thinking (express some mental work). The following verbs and phrases can be presented in the Participial clause:

Believe, Consider, Doubt, Expect, Imagine, Know, Mean, Realize, Suppose, Suspect, Treat, Think, Understand, Crack my brain

For instance:

Doubting her presence, Orpheus, filled with fear, And anxious too a lover’s eyes to cheer, Looked around [COCA, ACAD, 2008].

By treating each blank canvas as a challenging opportunity, these artists continually sharpen their skills of perception and execution [COCA, MAG, 2008].

Existence

Being, Existing

For being around the league this long, and having been here half a season, I haven’t taken it for granted yet [COCA, NEWS, 2011].

Emotions

Adore, Appeal, Appreciate, Desire, Describe, Detest, Dislike, Envy, Fear, Feel, Forgive, Hate, Like, Love, Mind, Need, Pity, Prefer, Satisfy, Trust, Want, Wish

For example:

Besides feeling nervous, Wendy was now shivering with cold [COCA, FIC, 1991].

Like many of Laikipia’s ranchers, Perrot tries to avoid killing problem predators, preferring to see them trapped and released away from the livestock [COCA, NEWS, 2001].

Perception

Appear, Hear, Look, Notice, Recognize, Resemble, See, Seem, Smell, Sound, Taste

Mr. Clinton, looking confident and relaxed at a news conference Friday night, said he had already met his goals for the summit: spurring on the world trade talks, gaining agreement among the Western allies on a Russian aid program, and taking steps “to restore the ability of all of our countries to create jobs and opportunities” [COCA, NEWS, 1993].

Possession and relationships between thing

Belong, Concern, Consist, Contain, Cost, Depend, Equal, Fit, Have, Include, Involve, Lack, Measure, Owe, Own, Possess, Suit, Weigh

For example:

Two gender-specific focus groups, consisting of both school health center users and nonusers, were held at 6 school health centers in May and June 2009 [COCA, ACAD, 2010].

Speaking about position in the sentence, participial clause as means of expressing Parenthesis is usually used at the beginning of the sentence, rarer in the middle and in the end. There some examples of positional usage of participial clause:

By omitting such facts, the articles blaming guns for increasing American suicide evaded the inconvenience of having to explain exactly what social benefit nations with few guns received from having their youth suicides occur in other ways [COCA, ACAD, 2007].

One thing everyone who knew the couple – including the neighbors – seemed to agree on was that whoever Susan’s killer was, it certainly was not John Hamilton [COCA, SPOK, 2010]. But there was no fire elements left in Oran, Zorah insisted, even knowing the truth [COCA, FIC, 1991].

An infinitive is a form of the verb not inflected for grammatical categories such as tense and person and used without an overt subject. In English, the infinitive usually consists of the word to, followed by the verb, for example, to speak. The Infinitival clause is a clause containing an infinitive as its main or only verb form. However, an infinitive clause can also be the infinitive plus any phrase or clause associated with it, for example, to speak frankly, to see the difference.

In the sentence infinitive clause as the Parenthesis uses verbs that denote:

Perceptions of senses (to see, to hear, to feel, to watch, to observe, to notice, to taste, to smell, to sound);

To hear them talk, marriage was a prison and intimacy was inconvenient at best [coca, MAG, 2011].

Wish, intention, emotions (to want, to wish, to desire, to like, to dislike, to hate, to intend, etc.);

While he has only entered the Dippie Hippie once, when it opened, to wish Barbara well in her enterprise, he and his officers make it a point both to watch it and to make Barbara aware that they are watching it [COCA, FIC, 2010].

Mental activity (to consider, to believe, to think, to find, to know, to expect, to suppose, suspect, etc.);

To guide this process, the instructional theory known as scaffolding was used [COCA, ACAD, 2009].

It never crossed Tom-Su’s mind, though, to suspect a trick [COCA, FIC, 2000].

Order, request, permission, advice, compulsion (to order, to ask, to request, to allow, to permit, to advise, to recommend, to cause, to force, to make, to let, etc.);

To permit meaningful interpretation of the results, we designed our experiment to include control conditions in which only the target was viewed and rated [COCA, ACAD, 2002].

Sequence (to begin with, to put it differently, to put it simply, to sum up, to summarize, etc.);

To begin with, I tried approaching singing it with what I would call my full voice, which is a 41-year-old adult woman voice and it destroyed the words [COCA, SPOK, 2011].

Opportunity (to happen, to chance, to occur, to take place etc.);

And they had to drill past the point where the mine collapsed, to happen, to reach to – the men where they’ve been waiting all this time [COCA, SPOK, 2011].

Communication and reports (to say, to tell, to report, to judge, to deny, etc.);

His feet, to judge by the boots, must be outsized, even larger than my own [COCA, FIC, 2010].

To maintain integrity of content, advertisements have always been featured on the outskirts of the Journal’s pages, never within the articles themselves [COCA, ACAD, 2011].

The special place among infinitive clauses which function as Parenthesis in the sentence has such verbs and verb expressions:

Linking verbs

Linking verbs don’t function in the same way as typical verbs in showing the action. These types of verbs show a relationship between the subject and the sentence complement, the part of the sentence following the verb. They connect or link the subject with more information – words that further identify or describe the subject. While standard verbs are indicative of action, linking verbs identify a relationship or existing condition. These are sometimes described as performing the function of an equal sign because they provide the connection between a subject and a certain state.

Linking words do not describe the action, but always connect the subject to additional information. The most common true linking verbs are to be, to become and to seem.

There are some of phrases used with the verb to be:

To be acceptable, To be baffled, To be believable, To be clean, To be clear, To be confident, To be contrary, To be convinced, To be convincing, To be correct, To be credible, To be cynical, To be honest, To be devoid, To be effective, To be engrossed, To be fair, To be genuine, To be justifiable, To be serious

The following examples show their usage in the context:

“Kathy and I want them to have a strong sense of themselves, to be confident, to have the capacity to be really happy and sad so that they have feelings and are sensitive to the needs of others, and that they want to make a difference in the lives of people,” he said [COCA, MAG, 1997].

To be fair, this case had the lowest retail cost, and it’s not billed as waterproof [COCA, MAG, 2011].

To be justifiable, the practice must be compatible with self-ownership [COCA, ACAD, 1990].

Other linking verbs are to appear, to turn, to prove, to look, to grow, to remain, to sound and to stay.

For example:

To sound polished, your usage needs to be up to date [COCA, ACAD, 2009].

Speaking about infinitival clauses as means of expressing Parenthesis it is worth to mention also such infinitival phrases as to be sure, to be certain, to be likely and to be unlikely. There are some examples of their usage:

The coat is expensive, to be sure, but it’s bound to last longer than a cheap one [50].