20/05/2021 ENG3701 –

English
Language:
Context and
Purpose
Assignment 1: 766677

J Maree 59413875
59413875@MYLIFE.UNISA.AC.ZA
Contents
Section A..................................................................................................................................................... 2
The National Lockdown and the Management of Spread of COVID-19 in South Africa in 2020.
.................................................................................................................................................................. 2
Section B..................................................................................................................................................... 4
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................ 8
Section A

The National Lockdown and the Management of Spread of

COVID-19 in South Africa in 2020.

Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa to address the nation tonight at 8pm.

What goes through your mind? The whole world holds their breath. Lockdown.. A state of

isolation or restricted access instituted as a security measure.

What does this mean? Face masks? Sanitizer? Curfews? No social gatherings? Feeling

like a prisoner in your own home. Corona Virus Disease of 2019 also known as COVID-

19 came and changed our lives forever. The way we view certain things, do certain things

and think about certain things will never be the same again.

People are rapidly being affected by this virus that may result in death. Not to downplay

the struggles we face with the death of our loved ones, but has anyone thought about the

economic implications the ‘lockdown’ has on a country such as South Africa, our country.

Don’t get me wrong, lives are more important, but without an economy we start to

experience other factors that might also result in the death of our people, factors such as

losing your job, poverty?

Some might argue that these measurements are far-fetched and totally unnecessarily.

Your forgetting that these measurements are there to protect not only you, but the rest of

the people in South Africa, people that do not necessarily have the financial background

to ensure they have the best possible care for them and their loved ones.

A lot of you will agree and say that you are not afraid to die, believe me, I am not, but I

don’t want to die of a virus that was allegedly man made and is seen as population control.

Safety measures have been put in place to ensure that you do your part to try and avoid

the virus. This does not mean that you will most certainly not be affected by the virus, but

by doing your part your chances of being affected is decreased by quite a lot.

By this means I have also had it with this facemasks and sanitizers, but it’s not all about

me, is it? There are people living around you who are afraid, very afraid, afraid of the

virus, the thought of death, the future. With that said when the national lockdown was

announced some rules were put in place to ensure the safety of our people, everyone,

not just you. By ensuring that you obey these rules you can make a difference in the lives

of someone who suffers from comorbidities and is uncertain about the future that lies

ahead.

“Just because we’re in a stressful situation doesn’t mean that we have to get stressed

out. You may be in the storm. The key is, don’t let the storm get in you.” – Soel Orteen
Section B
“Pandemic: lessons for today and tomorrow?”. Is an editorial that discusses the impact

the COVID-19 pandemic has on the people and the lesson that should be learned while

being in this pandemic. In this essay I will critically discuss how the writer communicates

the genre, structure, purpose and the audience in the given text.

This is an editorial. This is made evident by the content and the expression of opinion

style used by the writer. The purpose of this editorial is not to report news, but to express

an opinion on the educational studies in Mathematics and the use of technology for

distance learning with regards to the pandemic we are facing.

The article targets an audience of people either making use of social media or people

showing interest in mathematical studies. It appeals to the people making use of social

media in their everyday lives. The audience is singled out through the text in line 10 and

11 where they refer to “the consequences for mathematical education and for research”.

The context of the text is both the technology and educational spheres. This is because

the editorial clearly indicates how the pandemic has an impact on the education and

technology in a number of ways.

The differences between texts from Section A and Section B are quite evident. Section

A’s text consist of the management of the spread of COVID-19 and Section B’s text is

about the implications the virus has on educational factors.

The writer uses figurative language to achieve certain purposes. The writer makes use of

different language features to convey a clear message. The first language feature I am

going to discuss is the use of euphemisms in the text. (A indirect word substituted for one

considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant. Permeable

(line 58) can easily be replaced with the word spongy, lamented (line 58) – mourn.

The writer also makes use of repetition, the word “education” appears twenty times in the

text, stressing the importance of the consequences the pandemic has on the educational

factors of learning through online learning, and the effect it has on education and

research.

The writer makes use of the language feature named a simile. (A figure of speech that

compares two different things using the words “like” or “as”) The purpose of a simile is to

help describe one thing by comparing it to another thing that is perhaps seemingly

unrelated. “Please, even when you use technological tools, please, send us a copy of

your hand-written notes. It will be like when you write on the blackboard.” (line 44 – 46)
The writer also makes use of a rare language feature you don’t see too often, modality

words. (Modality words can be used to create a sense of uncertainty) “… but we expect

that the consequences of this pandemic will inspire more such research.” (line 13 -14)

The word will in this sentence is an example of a modality word, with this it does not

necessarily mean that research will be inspired, but it is believed to.

The use of rhetorical questions in this text gives the writer the ability to emphasize a point

or will make the audience start thinking. (A rhetorical question is a question asked not for

the answer, but for effect) “What will happen to all the research insights currently written

down in ICME and PME papers?” (line 6 – 7) and What are the consequences for

mathematics education and for research, now and in the future? (line 8 – 9)

The purpose of this text is to make people aware of the challenges that will be face by

everyone with regards to the pandemic. These struggles include educational struggles

(with regards to distance learning), technological struggles (with regard to internet access

as well as the ability to understand how to use technology) as well as the struggles we

face with research.

The conceptual meaning of the editorial clearly states the impacts the virus has on the

educational factors as well as the technological factors faced by people in South Africa.
“The challenges are there, but they are only temporary challenges. Online education will

flourish…” – Philip Regier (VP and Dean of ASU Online)

Bibliography
- TUT 101

- TUT 001

- TUT 301

- Applied English Language Studies: Further explorations

- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-020-09946-3