Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis

Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis The chapter is a theoretical examination of the discipline of contrastive analysis. Its main aim is to provide a literature review of contrastive analysis. In pursuit of this aim, the chapter first sheds the light on the history of the discipline of contrastive analysis by providing a definition and a sketch of its origin. Then, an account of the stages involved in the comparison and contrastive process is provided. After that a classification of the contrastive studies is introduced. Additionally, a brief review of the contrastive analysis hypothesis is presented as well as CAs applications and contributions to other fields like language teaching, language universals, etc. Finally, the criticism directed towards CA is identified along with the recent developments originating from the discipline itself. Definition and Origin There are three types of comparative studies. They are comparative historical linguistics, comparative typological linguistics, and contrastive linguistics. Comparative historical linguistics developed in the 19th century, it aims to find the common genetic relatedness between groups of languages. Comparative typological linguistics classify languages according to the characteristics and features they share. Note that languages which belong to a given typological group do not need to be genetically related, i.e., two languages can be closely related in their typological classification regardless their genetic distance. Contrastive linguistics/analysis is a sub discipline in linguistics which is concerned with another kind of comparison. It is concerned neither with historical development nor with the problems of describing genetic relationships. Contrastive analysis is purely synchronic in its orientation. It differs in its scope from comparative historical linguistics, since it is t ypically concerned with a comparison of corresponding subsystems in only two languages. To put it differently, Contrastive analysis studies the language items used in the same period, not those items which exist in different periods. It involves comparing and contrasting languages or subsystems of languages in order to identify their similarities and differences. Accordingly, contrastive analysis is based on theoretical linguistics as well as descriptive linguistics. It is based on the former since the success or failure of these comparisons depends on the theory applied; and it is based on the latter since no comparison is to take place without a prior description of the languages under study. Contrastive analysis had a long history. As early as 1000 A.D, the English abbot Aelfric of Eynsham (c. 955 c. 1010) wrote his Grammatica: a grammar of Latin and English, based on the assumption that the knowledge of grammar of one language facilitates the learning of the other. Additionally, in the 17th century, the grammarian John Hewes expresses the view that the knowledge of the native grammar cannot only facilitate learning a foreign language but also interface (the idea of interference) with it. Hewes in his (1624) A Perfect Survey of the English Tongue taken according to the USA and analogie of the Latine, presented the fundamentals of English in order to provide the learner with a Right knowledge censure of their owne mother tongue, in regard it holden a great difference in it selfe from the dialect of the Latine (as cited in Krzeszowski, Tomasz, 1990, p. 02). Other grammarians like Howel (1662), Coles (1675), and Lewis (1670?) applied the idea of facilitation (positive transfer) through adapting the grammars of English or of Latin to the needs of speakers of various native languages. Note that those early contrastive studies were motivated in almost the same way as modern contraceptive studies in the USA. As early as 1670, Mark Lewis stated the following: The most facil (sic!) way of introducing any in a Tongue unknown is to show what Grammar it hath beyond, or short of his Mother tongue; following that Maxime, to proceed a noto ad ignotum, making what we know, a step to what we are to lean (sic!) (as cited in Krzeszowski, Tomasz, 1990, p. 02). Nearly three centuries later, Charles Fries wrote the following: The most efficient materials are those that are based upon a scientific description of the languages to be learned, carefully compared with a parallel description of the native language of the learner (Fries, 1945, p. 9) Although the word contrast did not appear until the end of the 18th century, the idea of comparing languages for pedagogical reasons is not a new one, as it goes back to the beginning of the foreign language teaching tradition. Nevertheless, written records of such kind of procedures went back to the 15th century. It should be mentioned that earlier contrastivists were not concerned with methodological problems, though they did develop a method of comparison know as The Sign Theory, the first method in contrastive studies. The sign theory is an approach introduced by Krzeszowski (1985) and was designed for teaching Latin in England; it involved adjusting the grammatical descriptions of both English and Latin. For many years, contrastive studies were practiced in the classroom intuitively. However, modern linguistic theories which flourished in the 20th century did affect the state of contrastive studies and hence, interests in methodology and theory of contrastive analysis began to grow. Contrastive analysis usually involves two languages and it is based on the assumption that languages have enough in common to be compared, as stated by James (1980, p. 3): CA is a linguistic enterprise aimed at producing inverted (i.e. contrastive, not comparative) two-valued typologies (a CA is always concerned with a pair of languages), and founded on the assumption that languages can be compared. Among the prominent objectives of contrastive analysis are: supplying insights into the convergences and divergences existing among languages, predicting problematic areas in L2 learning and contributing to the development of language teaching materials. A quick glance at the history of the discipline of CA will manifest that it has been assigned different labels by different European and American scholars. It was referred to as parallel description (Fries 1945), analytical comparison (Mathesius, 1964), comparative descriptive linguistics (Halliday-McIntosh-Stevens 1964), differential description (Mackey 1965), descriptive comparison (Catford 1968), dialinguistic analysis (Nemser 1971), analytical description (Ibid), differential studies (Lee 1974), interlingual comparison (Fillipovic 1975c). However, the widely used term contrastive linguistics has been coined by the American linguist and anthropologist Benjamin Lee Whorf (1897-1941) in his 1941 article Languages and logic. In the aforementioned article, Whorf distinguished between comparative and contrastive linguistics. He claimed that contrastive linguistics is of even greater importance for the future technology of thought (1967, p. 240); and he defines it as a discipline which plots the outstanding differences among tongues in grammar, logic, and general analysis of experience. Contrastive analysis first appeared in Central Europe before the Second World War and spread afterwards in North America. It was Lados Linguistics Across Cultures (1957) which sets the corner stone of contrastive analysis, specifically the idea that the degree of differences between the two languages correlates with that of difficulty. In its early days in the forties (1940s) and fifties (1950s), CA was seen as a pedagogical tool, through which problematic areas in language teaching and learning can be predicted. Accordingly, CA relies very much on psychology as it is concerned with the prediction of learning difficulties which crop up from learners NL and TL; hence it needs a psychological component. It should be mentioned that CA is more powerful in the prediction of pronunciation difficulties, however, when it comes to grammar, it is not so powerful since most of grammatical errors in second language learning occur in areas where CA cannot predict. It is important to realize that there are three phases of Contrastive Analysis; each having its own characteristics: the (1) traditional, (2) classical and (3) modern phase. Traditional contrastive studies which marked the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century were horizontal in dimension in the sense that an element(s) in language A is compared with an equivalent element(s) in language B. They proceed from the description of the same features in the two languages to their juxtaposition on the basis of translation equivalence as assessed by a bilingual informant. Normally, a point of reference, often called tertium comparationis, is required outside the languages to be contrasted. The period between the end of the Second World War and 1965 was recognized as the classical period of contrastive studies. In this period, CA has been credited its status as a scientific, pragmatic as well as academic discipline. The most prominent figures of that period are Charles Fries, Robert Lado, Kenneth Pike, Ureil Weinreich among many others. The modern period of contrastive studies has been marked by the numerous contrastive projects carried out all over the world. However, it should be emphasized that theoretical issues of previous periods came under severe criticism. We will return to this presently, for the time being, it is sufficient to see that a problem exists. Despite the criticism of the previous periods, this phase marked the establishment of CA as an academic discipline throughout the world. It should be emphasized that modern linguistic approaches and technology have opened new horizons for CA. Notably, cognitive linguistics, pragmatics and corpus linguistics have all offered new theoretical frameworks and methodology. Stages of Contrastive Analysis Contrastive Analysis involves three stages, description, juxtaposition, and comparison. Lets consider each stage separately. The descriptive stage In this stage, the contrastive analyst provides an exhaustive description of the languages under study. Note that each language should be described individually apart from the other. Furthermore, the two languages should be described using the same model or framework, because if it happens that the two languages were described using different models, certain features may be described successfully than others. The juxtaposition stage In this stage, the contrastive analyst should respond to the following question: what is to be compared with what? In classical contrastive studies, the decision was based on intuitive judgments of competent bilingual informants. It was thought that competent bilinguals are able to decide about whether an element X in language A is equivalent to element Y in language B or is not. However, these intuitive judgments proved to be very weak as there are no clear principles underlying these decisions and as they were based on formal resemblances only which are not enough. As a consequence, the contrastive analyst faced the problem of establishing the criteria of comparison, also referred to as the tertium comparationis. It should be mentioned that the tertium comparationis is a kind of constant against which differences are measured, as stated by James (1980): The first thing we do is make sure that we are comparing like with like: this means that the two (or more) entities to be compared, while differing in some respect, must share certain attributes. This requirement is especially strong when we are contrasting, i.e., looking for differences-since it is only against a background of sameness that differences are significant. We shall call this sameness the constant and the differences variables. (p. 169) The notions of the equivalence and the tertium comparationis were presented graphically in Djordjevi (1987). In traditional contrastive studies, the TC was defined as the common platform of reference (Krzeszowski, 1990, p. 15). During the classical period, however, the TC was either formally or semantically based (James, 1980). Note that in phonological CA, the tertium comparationis is the IPA chart and the vowel diagram; in Lexis, it is the set of semantic components. However, contrastivists failed to establish a clear TC for grammatical CA. Because of this failure, three candidates have been proposed: surface structure TC, deep structure TC, and translation equivalence TC. The comparative stage In this stage, the contrastive analyst identifies the similarities and differences existing among the two languages. Note that the comparison involves types and not tokens (i.e. the contrastive analyst compares structures rather than strings of sound or graphic substance). Another issue related to the comparison stage is the fact that one does not compare languages in toto, instead a specifying process is usually under way, like for example the area of grammar, phonology or lexicology; which result in a variety of contrastive studies such as grammatical CA, phonological CA, and lexical CA. According to Krzeszowski (1990), there are three distinguished areas in this stage: Comparisons of various equivalent systems across languages, such as pronouns, articles, verbs, and in phonology consonants, vowels, as well as sub-systems, such as nasals, laterals, etc., depending on the degree of delicacy of the grammar. Comparisons of equivalent constructions, for example, interrogative, relative, negative, nominal phrase, etc., And in phonology clusters, syllables, diphthongs, and various distributions of sounds. Comparisons of equivalent rules (in those models where the concept of the rule appears), for example, subject raising from the embedded sentence, adjective placement, interrogative inversion, passivization, etc., and in phonology assimilation, dissimilation, metathesis, etc. In each area of comparison, one of three possible situations may arise: XLi = XLj When item X in Li may be identical in some respects with an equivalent item in Lj. XLi à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   XLj When item X in Li may be different in some respects from an equivalent item in Lj. XLi = ØLj When item X in Li has no equivalent in Lj. (Krzeszowski, 1976, p. 90) (as cited in Krzeszowski, Tomasz, 1990, p. 39). Levels of Analysis Contrastive analysis can be conducted at different levels of language, for example it can be carried out at the phonological level, grammatical level, as well as the lexical level. Phonological CA When comparing the sound system of two languages, the contrastive analyst has to go through four basic steps. Firstly, he should draw up the phonemic inventory (describe and compare vowels and consonants) of the two languages under study. Secondly, the contrastive analyst should compare the phonemes in the two languages interlingually. At this stage, the contrastive analyst should apply the minimal pair test. Here is an example of the minimal pair test between the phonemes /k/ and /g/ in English and Arabic: English: came /Keim/ vs. game /geim/ Arabic: /kelb/ dog vs. /gelb/ heart In Algerian Arabic /q/ and /g/ are phonemes and allophones: /gern/ horn vs. /qern/ century à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ phonemes /gma::r/ moon vs. /qma:r/ moon à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ allophones Thirdly, the contrastive analyst should state the allophones of each phoneme of the two languages being compared. And fourthly, he should state the distribution restrictions of the phonemes and allophones of both languages. Grammatical CA In a grammatical contrastive analysis, the contrastive analyst compares and contrasts between the grammatical systems of two languages. The comparison may take different forms, for example, in English; word order is used to differentiate between an affirmative sentence and an interrogative one: you are a teacher/are you a teacher? In Spanish, however, the same distinction is indicated via the use of intonation; while in Arabic, the same distinction is expressed through the addition of functional words like Ù†¡Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ at the beginning of sentences. Another kind of grammatical contrastive analysis may investigate how a given linguistic category functions in two different languages, such as the case of adjectives in English and French. In English, adjectives tend to be pronominal, however, in French; they tend to be post nominal, for example: The narrow door La porte etroite. Lexical CA Contrastive lexicology is carried out between the vocabulary system(s) of two languages. It is concerned with the way lexical items in one language are expressed in another language. This can be done through identifying both the semantic fields and the semantic properties in order to specify the divisions and sub-divisions of the lexicon. Lexical CA may result in complete, partial, or nil equivalence between languages. Towards the Classification of Contrastive Studies Contrastive studies can be divided into various subdivisions according to many criteria. Jacek Fisiak distinguished between theoretical contrastive studies and applied contrastive studies as stated in the following quote: Theoretical CS give an exhaustive account of the differences and similarities between two or more languages provide an adequate model for their comparison, determine how and which elements are comparable, thus defining such notions as congruence, equivalence, correspondence, etc. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Applied CS is part of applied linguistics. Drawing on the findings of theoretical contrastive studies they provide a framework for the comparison of languages, selecting whatever information is necessary for a specific purpose, e.g. teaching, bilingual analysis, translating, etc. (Fisiak, 1981, p. 9) He claims that theoretical contrastive studies do not investigate how a given category present in language A is represented in language B. Instead they look for the realization of a universal category X in both A and B (Fisiak et al. 1978: 10). Whereas, applied contrastive studies are preoccupied with the problem of how a universal category X, realized in language A as y, is rendered in language B. (Fisiak et al., 1978, p. 10), as illustrated below: X X A B A(y) B(?) Figure 2. a) Theoretical CAs b) Applied CAs Hence, a theoretical contrastive study provides us with exhaustive descriptions of the languages being compared and contrasted. Also, it highlights the main points of convergences and divergences between the languages in question. A worth emphasizing point is that there are no claims to be made as to whether the results are applicable for other purposes or not. An advantage of theoretical contrastive analyses is that they make reference to the universal tertium comparationis X; whereas applied contrastive analyses do not make such a reference. Additionally, theoretical contrastive studies contribute to the establishment of language universals. Also, they are language independent and non-directional. It should be mentioned that theoretical contrastive studies insist on the descriptive neutrality between the two languages under study, which is why attention should be drawn to some problems of terminology. In contrastive studies, terms like SL vs. TL, L1 vs. L2, and NL vs. FL occur and re-occur. However, the avoidance of these terms is highly required in theoretical contrastive studies, simply because the languages under study have an equal status. Applied contrastive studies draw on the findings of theoretical contrastive studies. Their aim is not merely linguistic but also applicable to other domains like: language teaching, translation, bilingual education, etc. Traditionally speaking, applied contrastive studies have been concerned with setting out the possible problematic areas in the learners target language, i.e., providing reliable prediction of the learners difficulties (James, 1980, p. 181-7). It should be mentioned that Applied contrastive studies devote more attention to surface representations since these are what the learners/translators have a more immediate access to and what language teaching has always been concerned with. Despite the fact that applied contrastive studies draw on the findings of theoretical contrastive studies, still they do not deal only with differences but also they give importance to the similarities. Hence, the teacher should point out the similar forms, so that learners will not guess them, because very often, an element of a foreign language is similar to what one has in his own language. Notice that the first contrastive studies were predominantly theoretical (Grandgent, 1982; Vietor, 1894; Passy, 1912; J Baudouin de Courtenay, 1912; Bogorodickij, 1915). Still, the applied part of CA was not completely neglected (e.g. Vietor, 1903), but it was of little importance. Also, the aim of developing pedagogical materials was more visible in the US, while Europe was more interested in the theoretical dimension. The other classification of contrastive studies is based on the linguistic model applied when describing the languages involved. Since contrastive analysis can be carried out in different linguistic frameworks, there are the structural, transformational, stratificational, or systemic contrastive studies. A third taxonomy is the one provided by Di Pietro (1971). He divided contrastive studies into Autonomous vs. Generalized and into Taxonomic vs. Operational. In autonomous contrastive studies, no reference is made to any universal which may be shared between the languages compared. Each language is described independently from the other. However, in generalized contrastive studies, reference is made to the shared features/structures which exist between the compared languages, not only because of their typological or genetic similarities but because of the universal grammar which underlie all human languages. Concerning the Taxonomic vs. Operational contrastive studies, the former states the similarities and differences across languages, the latter seeks to formulate a series of conversions performed on the source language in order to produce the forms of the goal language (Di Pietro 1971, as cited in Krzeszowski, Tomasz, 1990, p. 24). Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH) Definition and origin Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis states that the structure of the learners L1 affects the acquisition (the two terms acquisition/learning interchangeably) of their L2, in the sense that whenever there are similarities the L2 learning is facilitated, and whenever there are differences the learning process is difficult. The term Contrastive Hypothesis implies the theory itself, while the term Contrastive Analysis implies the methodology. Hence, the term Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis implies both theory and methodology. CAH came into existence in the 1960s. It originated from Lados Linguistics across Cultures: The plan of the book rests on the assumption that we can predict and describe the patterns that will cause difficulty in learning, and those that will not cause difficulty, by comparing systematically the language and the culture to be learned with the native language and culture of the student (1957, p. VII). CAH is based on the assumption that second language learners tend to transfer L1 features to L2 utterances as stated by Lado (1957): Individuals tend to transfer the forms and meanings, and the distribution of forms and meanings of their native language and culture to the foreign language and culture (p. 2). Accordingly, Ellis (1965) suggested that the psychological foundation of CAH is transfer theory. In fact, CAs assumption that L1 interferes with the learners L2 acquisition/Learning leads us to the notion of transfer; be it positive or negative. Transfer refers to the application of native language knowledge when trying to speak the target language. Positive Transfer (facilitation) occurs when the structure of the two languages is the same; hence no errors will crop up. However, negative transfer (interference) occurs when the structure of the languages is different, and here errors will crop up and so the difficulties in tackling the target language. All in all, the more the similarities the more the learning process is facilitated, and the more the differences the more the learning process will be difficult. The aforementioned statement reflects linguists belief that a comparison of learners L1 and L2 will reveal problematic areas for L2 students, as stated by Lado (1957): In the comparison between native and foreign language lies the key to ease or difficulty in foreing language learningà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Those elements that are similar to (the learners) native language will be simple for him, and those elements that are different will be difficult. (p. 1-2) The linguistic framework of the CAH is structuralism which assumes that language is a finite structure which can be compared with structures of other languages. Additionally, Skinners behavioural psychology is the basis of the CAH, specifically, the idea that learning is a habit formation process that takes place by reinforcement. Language acquisition consists of the acquisition of a set of habits; errors in second language were seen as the result of the first language habits interfering with the acquisition of the habits of the second. Procedures of the contrastive analysis hypothesis CAH applies the following procedure when attempting to predict areas of difficulty, as illustrated or stated by Whitman (1970): A contrastive analysis must proceed through four steps; description, selection, contrast, and prediction. Unfortunately, most analyses are weakened by insufficient care or attention at one or more of these steps, each of which is beset with a host of problems. (p. 191) In the Description stage, the contrastive analyst provides a formal description of the learners L1 and L2. In the selection stage, he selects specific forms (linguistic items, or rules, or structures, etc.) for contrast, as it is impossible to contrast every single facet of two languages. In the contrast stage, he carries out the contrastive process which will result in highlighting the similarities and differences existing among the two languages. Finally, come the stage of prediction in which the contrastive analyst predicts the problematic issues and difficulties, which the learner may or may not face while learning the target language. In order to describe the stage of prediction, Stockwell et al. (1965) proposed a hierarchy of difficulty based on the notion of transfer, be it positive transfer, negative transfer or zero transfer. When the forms of the two languages are similar, positive transfer will occur and hence the facilitation of the learning process; however, when the forms of the two languages are different, negative transfer will occur and hence difficulty in learning; when there is no relation at all between the forms of the two languages, here no transfer is to take place, i.e., zero transfer. Versions of the CAH It is important to realize that there are different versions of the CAH. These are the strong and weak versions of Wardhaugh (1970) and the moderate version of Oller and Ziahosseiny (1970). Wardhaugh (1970) suggested that the strong version predicts areas of difficulty via providing a systematic and scientific analysis of the learners L1 and L2. However, the weak version requires of the linguist only that he uses the best linguistic knowledge available to account for observed difficulties in second language learning. (Wardhaugh, 1970, p. 129) So, there is a shift in focus from the predictive power of areas of difficulty to the explanatory power of observable errors. In addition, Oller and Ziahosseiny (1970) find the strong version too strong and the weak version too weak, and so they proposed a moderate version of the hypothesis which they summarized as follows: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the categorization of abstract and concrete patterns according to their perceived similarities and differences is the basis for learning; therefore, wherever patterns are minimally distinct in form or meaning in one or more systems, confusion may result (p. 186). To explain their view, they conducted a study based on English spelling errors on the UCLA placement test. In this test, they compared the spelling errors of foreign students whose native language employed/uses a Roman alphabet with foreign students spelling errors whose native language has little or no relation to the Roman alphabet. They arrive to the conclusion that knowledge of one Roman writing system makes it more difficult to learn/acquire another Roman spelling system. Implementations of Contrastive Analysis Be it a very useful tool, CA is applied in many fields of inquiry. It contributes to different areas of study as stated in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Applied Linguistics: CA has been used as a tool in historical linguistics to establish language genealogies, in comparative linguistics to create language taxonomies and in translation theory to investigate problems of equivalence. In language teaching it has been influential through the contrastive analysis hypothesis CAHà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Johnson Johnson, 1998, p. 85) Contrastive analysis and language teaching In the field of language teaching, CA has been influential through the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis, as Fries point out: The most efficient materials are those that are based upon a scientific description of the languages to be learned, carefully compared with a parallel description of the native language of the learner (1945, p. 9) As a matter of fact, the contributions of contrastive analysis to the field of language teaching are numerous and remarkable. First, a contrastive analysis of the learners L1 and L2 helps syllabus designers to prepare effective teaching materials taking into consideration students difficulties. As stated by Lado in his (1957) Linguistics across Cultures: The results of such comparisons have proven of fundamental value for the preparation of teaching materials, test and language teaching experiments. Foreign language teachers who understand this field will acquire insights and tools for evaluating the language and culture content of the textbooks and tests, supplementing the materials in use, preparing new materials and tests, and diagnosing students difficulties accurately. ( p. I) Secondly, contrastive analysis provides useful insights to the teacher who has performed a contrastive analysis between the students L1 and L2, and makes him/her aware of the real learning problems and the best way(s) to teach them, as stated by Lado (1957): The teacher who has made a comparison of a foreign language with the native language of the student will know better what the real learning problems are and can better provide for teaching them. (p. 2) In addition to Lado, Mackey (1965) illustrates the significance of CA to language teaching in the following quotation: CA is of particular interest to language teaching because many of the difficulties in learning a second language are due to the fact that it differs from the first. So that if we subtract the characteristics of the first language from those of the second; what presumably remains is a list of the learners difficulties. I DID NOT FIND THE PAGE It seems likely then, that the most useful contribution that Contrastive Analysis can make to language teaching lies in predicting learning difficulties and helping syllabus designers to produce the most effective materials. Contrastive analysis and language typology

‘Everything Grew Larger Than Life in the Steamy Hothouse of Darwin and the People Were No Exception.’ How Important Is Place in This Novel?

Peter Goldsworthy’s Maestro demonstrates the importance of setting in understanding characters such as the protagonists Paul Crabbe and Eduard Keller. Written in a retrospective narrative from Paul Crabbe’s point of view and how the settings of ‘steamy’ Darwin, ‘suburban’ Adelaide and ‘hypocritical’ Vienna affected him. Upon moving from Adelaide to Darwin, Paul immediately falls in love with the ‘city of booze, blow and blasphemy’. Darwin is the backdrop to the sensual addiction Paul develops and feeds his heightened sense as a ‘steamy and lush hothouse’. Totally different from Adelaide, Paul thrives in the new setting, as his character develops. Paul meets Keller, the ‘Maestro’ in Darwin and is fascinated by the first impression Keller leaves upon him. The formal white suit Keller wears contrasts with the Swan, the dark and casual hotel he inhabits, symbolising Keller’s alienation in Darwin. Described by Paul as a ‘type of monastery†¦ a place for atonement’, Darwin and the Swan provide an insight into the Maestro’s character. To Keller, Darwin symbolises the social and cultural isolation he craves as atonement for the crimes he believed he had committed. Keller’s history affects him so deeply he was changed by it, and to Paul he is merely a ‘Nazi. ’ Upon reflecting, Paul found it strange to realise how much he ‘came to love the man, depend on him’ from his first impressions. As a teacher Keller taught Paul incomplete lessons of music and life that Paul comes to regret not appreciating. On Paul’s final night in Darwin he goes to the Swan with the intention of saying goodbye to Keller and then meeting with his girlfriend Rosie. Keller’s acceptance of Paul as an important part of his life is symbolised through the new chair and table he has purchased for Paul, finally ready to share his mysterious history. However, Paul doesn’t realise the confessional for what it was and with ‘the aroused sexual present’ overwhelming the past he leaves behind his broken teacher. Keller’s past and transition in nature from a ‘romantic virtuosos’ to strict teacher is shown through music and his descriptions of Vienna. After the Nazis rose to power, Keller describes the ballroom of Vienna being turned nto ‘the experimental laboratory for the end of the world’ demonstrating that Keller’s own world ended along with his love of Vienna. Keller’s love for his wife Mathilde gave him rubato, and ‘that extra littleness’ that Paul could never achieve. However, it buoyed his arrogance and belief of his own invulnerability which prevented him from real ising the danger his Jewish family were in, in Vienna. To Paul, Vienna represents a European city of culture and music but to Keller it is a reminder of his lost family and regretted choices. Vienna is also the cause of Keller’s mistrust and suspicion of beauty, as he says ‘never trust the beautiful’ is something Paul, as a young and naive man, can’t understand. Keller describes Vienna as a veneer, ‘hiding the hypocrisy within’ in an attempt to teach Paul the lessons he had to learn through awful experiences. Paul and Keller’s natures are contrasted by Goldsworthy in Maestro and their similarity is what causes Keller to endeavour to teach Paul. The confessional that Paul snubbed, a privilege that he failed to realise through selfishness and sensual addiction, was Keller’s explanation and he told Paul this as he called out ‘I tell you this, not for me, but for you. ’ Paul’s rejection of the deep connection he shared with Keller is something he would come to regret as he strove to defy the limits of perfection Keller had shown him. When Paul leaves the setting of Darwin to attend school, he takes an arrogance that let him believe Keller ‘had taught all that was in his power to teach. In comparison to ‘lush’ Darwin, Melbourne and Adelaide are mundane and suburban and perhaps symbolise the direction Paul’s future will take, as he rejected Keller and the incomplete lessons he strove to teach. Paul realises he can’t bridge the tragic gulf between talent and genius in his travels of Europe as he ignored Keller’s advice of ‘a little hurt now, to save a wasted life’. Vienna is a city of culture and music to Paul and the setting is important in understanding how he differs from his mentor, the Maestro. The settings of Goldsworthy’s Maestro are important in understanding the history and context of each character and their actions. The settings are significant in the novel as they contrast the characters to their surroundings and develop meaning such as Keller’s chosen isolation in Darwin. Each place in the novel symbolises differences and similarities and Goldsworthy positions the reader to observe the way the character understands and interacts with their surroundings, be it Darwin, Adelaide, the Swan or Vienna.

Top For and against Essay Topics Choices

Top For and against Essay Topics Choices Getting the Best for and Against Essay Topics Social science essays provide you with an opportunity to present your opinion and speak up. The most effective persuasive essays persuade the reader to agree with a certain point of view, perspective or maybe to take a particular action. Find out more about the very first decade of film production to discover what themes were most common. If you're not assigned a specific theme, you can go on looking for the inspiring topics all on your own. Thus, if you believe that you're incapable of writing an excellent paper, then the correct choice is going to be to ask professionals to do. If you still struggle to find something which it is possible to write about, you always have the option to consider our professional quick essay writing service. When it has to do with writing an argumentative essay, the most significant issue to do is to select a topic and an argument you can really get behind. for and Against Essay Topics - the Conspiracy Since you may see, writing an argumentative essay on the majority of the available topics is a time-consuming process which demands a great deal of efforts and skills it's well worth trying as you are able to get unforgettable experience. The main aim of topic choice for a proposal essay is to show the idea can be put into place in practice. Don't forget that studying isn't always a critical matter and in addition, there are fun cause and effect essay topics you're able to refer to. The option of compare and contrast essay topics isn't a simple task because you must clearly show your analytical skills. To begin with, if you're arranging a persuasive speech, you ought to think about a topic that may create mental pictures in the minds of your audience. The point is that someone with a wide ranging vocabulary ought to be in a position to speak about any of the common essay topics easily using words that are particular to that topic. Furthermore, you would like to select an essay topic that's going to let you demonstrate your skills to the best of your ability. Getting a great deal of practice throughout high school will guarantee you are ready to write on several topics in a lot of disciplines. Things You Should Know About for and Against Essay Topics An argumentative essay is a particular kind of essay which requires students to argue with the present points of view so as to show the truth of their own position. The primary aim of description essay is to describe something, be it an individual, a circumstance or simply something you wish to tell people about. You always intui tively understand once an intriguing essay idea is really the ideal idea for you. Then it's time for the conclusion. You're able to consist of secondary sources and share arguments about the topic. So make certain that you decide on a subject, which has values in it. You will likely find a different and terrific topic you will love to write about. You could be given the topic straight away by your professor, or perhaps you be free to select the topic yourself. On the exact same note, it may be an examination or analysis of a specific issue, based on expository essay topics you may choose. One other important element when picking a persuasive speech topic is to select a topic that may provoke your audience a little. To start with, you should select the topic from the descriptive speech topics you are going to be interested in. It can be challenging to think of a topic off the surface of your head. The Definitive Approach for for and Against Essay Topics Informative essays are somewhat more descriptive. Nobody really wishes to compose an essay. To assist you craft an intriguing essay, below are some excellent persuasive topics for you to pick from. To discover argumentative essay topics easy on various platforms, you want to comprehend about the argumentative essay. You don't need to acquire super technical with legal argumentative essays, but make certain to do your homework on what the recent laws about your preferred topic actually say. Don't forget your topic reflexes the principal reason you chose to compose your essay. It's possible for you to use any as the subject of your essay particularly when you're not assigned any specific theme. You must settle on a persuasive essay topic that permits you to present the greatest possible case. If you're tasked to write a college essay, you're not alone. The role of assigning an essay to middle school students is to make awareness and permit them to develop writing skills. There are a number of exemplification essay topics for college students which you could adopt but of course not all of these will be applicable for your undertaking. There are a few exemplification essay topics for college students you could adopt but, naturally, not all them will be applicable to your undertaking.

Hemophilia in Queen Victoria’s Descendants

Three or four of the children of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are known to have had the hemophilia gene.  A son, four grandsons, and six or seven great-grandsons and possibly a great-granddaughter were afflicted with hemophilia. Two or three daughters and four granddaughters were carriers who passed the gene to the next generation, without themselves being afflicted with the disorder. How Inheriting Hemophilia Works Hemophilia  is a chromosome disorder which is located on the sex-linked X chromosome.  The trait is recessive, which means that women, with two X chromosomes, must inherit it from both mother and father for the disorder to appear.  Men, however, have only one X chromosome, inherited from the mother, and the Y chromosome all men inherit from the father does not protect the male child from manifesting the disorder. If a mother is a carrier of the gene (one of her two X chromosomes has the abnormality) and the father is not, as seems to have been the case with Victoria and Albert, their sons have a 50/50 chance of inheriting the gene and being active hemophiliacs, and their daughters have a 50/50 chance of inheriting the gene and being a carrier, also passing it along to half of their children. The gene can also appear spontaneously as a mutation on an X chromosome, without the gene being present in the X chromosomes of either father or mother. Where Did the Hemophilia Gene Come From? Queen Victoria’s mother, Victoria, Duchess of Kent, did not pass a hemophilia gene to her older son from her first marriage, nor did her daughter from that marriage seem to have the gene to pass down to her offspring — the daughter, Feodora, had three sons and three daughters.  Queen Victoria’s father, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, did not show signs of hemophilia.  There is a small possibility that the Duchess had a lover who had survived to adulthood though afflicted with hemophilia, it would have been highly unlikely that a man with hemophilia would have survived to adulthood at that time in history.  Prince Albert showed no signs of the disease, so he’s unlikely to have been the source of the gene, and not all the daughters of Albert and Victoria seem to have inherited the gene, which would have been true if Albert had the gene. The assumption from the evidence is that the disorder was a spontaneous mutation either in her mother at the time of the queen’s conception, or, more likely, in Queen Victoria. Which of Queen Victoria’s Children Had the Hemophilia Gene? Of Victoria’s four sons, only the youngest inherited hemophilia.  Of Victoria’s five daughters, two definitely were carriers, one was not, one had no children so it is not known whether she had the gene, and one may or may not have been a carrier. Victoria, Princess Royal, German Empress and Queen of Prussia: her sons showed no signs of being afflicted, and none of her daughters’ descendants were, either, so she apparently did not inherit the gene.Edward VII: he was not a hemophiliac, so he did not inherit the gene from his mother.Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse: she definitely carried the gene and passed it to three of her children.  Her fourth child and only son, Friedrich, was afflicted and died before he was three.  Of her four daughters who lived to adulthood, Elizabeth died childless, Victoria (maternal grandmother of Prince Philip) was apparently not a carrier, and Irene and Alix had sons who were hemophiliacs.  Alix, known later as Empress Alexandra of Russia, passed the gene to her son, the Tsarevitch Alexei, and his affliction influenced the course of Russian history.Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha: he was not a hemophiliac, so he did not inherit the gene from his mother.Princess Helena: she had two sons who died in infancy, which might be attributed to hemophilia, but that is not certain. Her other two sons showed no signs, and her two daughters did not have children.Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll: she had no children, so there is no way to know if she had inherited the gene.Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught: he was not a hemophiliac, so he did not inherit the gene from his mother.Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany: he was a hemophiliac who died after two years of marriage when bleeding could not be stopped after he fell. His daughter Princess Alice was a carrier, passing the gene to her eldest son who died when he bled to death after an automobile accident.  Alice’s younger son died in infancy so he may or may not have been afflicted, and her daughter seems to have escaped the gene, as none of her descendants have been afflicted.  Leopold’s son, of course, did not have the disease, as sons do not inherit a father’s X chromosome.Princess Beatrice: like her sister Alice, she definitely carried the gene.  Two or three of her four children had the gene.  Her son Leopold bled to death during a knee operation at 32. Her son Maurice was killed in action in World War I, and it’s disputed whether hemophilia was the cause. Beatrice’s daughter, Victoria Eugenia, married King Alfonso XIII of Spain, and their two sons both bled to death after car accidents, one at 31, one at 19.  Victoria Eugenia and Alfonso’s daughters have no descendants who’ve shown signs of the condition.