Abstract
M.A.
While linguistic theorists have been grappling with the intricacies of language for
many years and a myriad of theories on the production of speech has graced the
intellectual world, most theorists over this time have come to agree on one thing,
and that is that language is inextricably linked to culture (esp. Sapir Whorf;
Halliday). One of the implications herein is that if language and culture are linked,
then as society changes, so too does language change with it. The changes can
be as severe as a complete language system or changes to vocabulary, so that
what is true for a language at one point in time may differ with changes to that
society over time. The relationship between language and culture is a two-way
one: language is affected by the culture of a society (in such a way that it is
possible to see how changes in that society have affected language), and it is
also possible to make deductions about the culture of the society by looking at
the changes in the language it speaks. . Inferences about the readership can be
made from clues that the writer unwittingly provides in the form of cultural
conventions. These conventions (which are evident in the text) are used by the
writer knowingly or unknowingly because the writer writes in a specific sociocultural
context and therefore shares the cultural conventions with the readers.
Different reading types- i.e. point-driven or information driven- are also
indicative of the readership, and the features common to each are exclusive and
are exploited by the writer for relating to his/her specific readership.