Linguistic Devices Essay Example for Free

Linguistic Devices Essay Both Sun and Independent use linguistic devices. Both Sun and Independent are about the same subject about Clare Short, who is an ex-Cabinet Minister. Clare Short was accused of treachery; she was accused of leaking secrets about the UKs National Security. Both newspapers present the case against her in different ways. The Sun and Independent are reporting on Clare Shorts words according to Sun she was damaging the interest of the UK. In the Independent she was accused the blame about the Iraq war. The Suns headline is big and striking but in The Independent it is small and not as striking. The headline in The Sun had lots of premodifiers self-serving irresponsible discredited and bitter but on The Independent it rarely uses any. The tabloid used premodifiers in the title to show biased views unlike broadsheet newspaper, which shows different opinion to the audience. The Independent uses names in the title to identify who they are talking about. This is more informative. Both newspapers had pictures. Generally, The Sun had bigger pictures than The Independent. The Sun gives a big negative picture, which gives the audience a negative impression that she is guilty. On the other hand The Independent gives fairly good impression of Clare Short and as if she is explaining her thoughts. Tabloid only has a caption that shows a more one-sided approach, under fire where Clare Short has to defend herself. However in the Independent it has captions for Clare Short and Turnbull. This shows that the Independent is focusing on both sides of the argument. Independent uses informative rather than the accusation language of The Sun. When the Independent makes their point there is no naming people. The Sun uses slang and colloquial language to grab the readers attention. Sun also writes this to entertain the audience. Whilst in The Independent they use Standard English, their purpose is to inform and explain to the reader. The Sun avoids complex sentences so as not to confuse the reader whilst in Independent uses more complex sentences and punctuation to inform the reader. The Sun uses less complex vocabulary; however in Independent they use more complex vocabulary. The Independent uses complex vocabulary so that reader trusts newspapers because they sound sophisticated. The Sun manipulates readers opinion about Clare Short is negative by use of premodifiers like ranting, and angry. Sun gives a positive impression of Turnbull to the reader by not criticising Turnbull much. However in the Independent they are accusing Turnbull of giving a letter and threatening Clare Short. In The Sun the writer suggests that he says damaging the interest of the UK. This reinforces that it is relevant to the UK viewers. The Sun newspaper had a sidebar saying Page 3 ban doomed Clare Short failed to doom the Suns page. This strengthens readers feeling against Clare Short. This sidebar is only connected to the story because of Clare Short. In the Independent the sidebar was a letter from Sir A. Turnbull. This is additional information. The Independent uses Standard English. On the other hand The Sun uses colloquial language. An example of Standard English is there had been unease across Whitehall over the legality of the war without a second UN resolution. This is very easy to understand and avoids colloquial language. Examples of colloquial language are tore into and rock bottom. Those who enjoy reading tabloid newspapers find language easy and broadsheet readers are able to accept the formal language. In The Sun the writer quotes Jonathan Dimbleys questions rather than Clare Shorts answers. This is able to bias the readers opinion more, if they quote Clare Short less. However, The Independent uses long quotations from Clare Short. This gives the readers more freedom to decide their own opinion. Both newspapers use very different linguistic devices and different means of presentation to give the audience different opinions. The photographs are different; The Sun gives less attractive picture than the Independent.