This module is better

I am getting on with the Corpus Linguistics and have just completed a task. This was to compare speeches made by Archbishop George Carey and Pope John Paul II. The software we are using (Antconc) indicated their very diffeent styles of rhetoric - I am keen to see what the tutor thinks of my assessment. GC seems to be using much more informal, almost conversational language, whereas PJP is much more foormal, almost like an academic. The latter is also much more classically religious, and the former speaks more about every day life.

I am still studying hats and shoes. A neighbour has lent me a hat - black with a brim and lots of ostrich feathers. I want some blue flowers for it but they have to match the dress exactly and I can't find any at the moment. The shoes will wait til the Autumn when there should be a wider choice of black patents.

TSH's daughter has seen the dress and seems to approve.

Only a few weeks til our holiday tour of Southern England. Holiday wardrobe planning time. Will Summer have arrived by then?

Done!!

The grammar book assignment has been submitted. I enjoyed it but I'm glad its gone. I've now started on corpus linguistics and have just read one account of how male language is different from female language (quite possibly) but he (I think its a he) claims that women's swearing is less extreme than men's (not round here it isn't) and that women don't use abstract entities like 'opinion' or 'theory' (we CAN do abstract  thinking, he mustn't have looked for the right words). He finishes by saying that men's and women's language is complementary, based on that fact that men go out to work and women stay at home (OMG!!) and that their interaction (wait for it .....) is best represented by a pair of entwined wedding rings. I need to lie down in a darkened room with my smelling salts. Maybe even loosen my stays.

Almost finished!

The essay comparing the grammar books is almost finished - I have enjoyed it but will be glad to see it go now. I don't feel I have done myself justice but I have no real fears about failing this time. Corpus Linguistics here we come!!

A neighbour has lent me a hat to try for the wedding - black and very dramatic with ostrich feathers all around. I like it a lot but maybe it also needs a row of blue somewhere. Or should I go and buy (or hire) anyway? My shoes are not decided - I can't walk in high heels but would love something a bit glamorous. Nobody is designing shoes for me!!

TSH is feeling very left out - no decisions yet about what the men are wearing.

Really bad hair day

Used a new product - Tresemme plumping powder, after which I could not even get a comb through my hair. Even after a second wash with deep clean shampoo, it still feels bad and looks bad. How can they take Funky Chunky off the market and put this on? (Yes, I know, they're different manufacturers but it looks like a trend.)

Still haven't finished the essay on grammar books but its getting there.

I am not giving up the MA course, but at least one person has because of the way the course is (not) being run. She got a full refund, as well, so they are certainly feeling guilty!!

A family Chronicle

A Chronicle of my family has just been published on Amazon. http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Greenall-Chronicle-Robert/dp/1471634523/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335187782&sr=1-4

Next module

Went to University for the start of the new module. Wore my striped asymmetric jacket and felt good. This one was on corpus linguistics - studying large bodies of text using computers - so I was OK with it. They used as an example looking for how people greet each other - 'hi', 'hello' or 'good morning'. The results showed that people over 60 rarely use 'hi' and everyone agreed that 'old people' were more formal. I kept my mouth shut (for once!) but wanted to explain that 60 is not old, that many of my friends are over 60 and that most of us say 'hi'. It turned out that the data was 30 years old, so they were talking about a previous generation of 'over 60s'. Whereas we are all children of the flower-power 60s, man. It makes you wonder whether a lot of age-related research is out-of date.

I've got to get down to it

I am trying to write a 5,000 word essay which compares and contrasts two grammar books. I have put in many hours and have produced about 4,700 words and a few colour graphs but am still some way from something intelligent enough to hand in. Its such a massive topic that I keep getting side-tracked onto issues I did not intend to include. I need to steer a course between being too superficial and including so much detail that there is no clear argument. I really need to focus!!

Another problem is that last time they told me I could not cite lecture notes and had to find a reference from an academic source such as a text book. I have on-line access to the library catalogue but not to the books themselves. And I can't very well order a book every time I think a couple of lines might be useful. They have not thought this through for distance learners.

Next week is the face-to-face day for the next module. Another outfit to plan. I've already had my hair done - Old Faithful did really well with it last time, so I hope this one looks as good by next weekend.

This course is so much harder than I dreamed possible. And I've understood and enjoyed all the material in the grammar module!!