Siir Tecirlioglu

12

18 September 2011

Comparative Commentary (Foreign by Carol Ann Duffy and Bilingual classes ‘raise results’ from the

BBC News)

Text one, BBC News article Bilingual classes 'raise results', written on 15 March 2007, speaks

about analysis done by University of London suggesting that bilingual students show better results in

school than those who speak only one language. Text two, Carol Ann Duffy’s poem Foreign written in

1987, speaks about the life of an immigrant in places where their native language is not spoken and how

they think in one language but speak in other. Besides the content as mentioned in the introduction, the

two texts are similar and different in the following aspects as well: audience, character, setting, point of

view, tone and mood, and literary techniques.

The audiences of the texts differ greatly due to their genres. The first text is an article published

on BBC News. The second text is a famous female poet’s poem which can be found online and in book

stores. BBC News article has wider audience than the poem because it is more commonly accessed. BBC

News article would be read by whoever goes on BBC to check the news, people who are studying

bilingualism and bilingual people. The poem’s audience can be students studying her poems, and a

person interested in different people’s points of views on being foreigner.

There texts have similarities and differences in terms of characters. The first text has researchers

and bilingual children. Bilingual children are never quoted in the text but the researchers are. The text

lacks information on what the bilingual children, themselves, think about the advantages of their

language skills as the researchers say they have. Because the children are never quoted and the reader

doesn’t about the children’s thoughts on this topic make the article less reliable. It is the children

themselves who could say whether they see the benefits of having two languages. The second text, on

the other hand, brings an insight to the feelings of a bilingual—in other words a foreigner. The character

in the text is very sad and almost regretful that she/he is living abroad. The following quote convinces

the reader that this character is not happy to have two languages: “You think/in a language of your own

and talk in theirs.” (lines 3-4). The character also mentions the hardships of having a foreign language

because of the limited vocabulary he/she has.

Another area where the texts have similarities and differences is the setting. The first text is set

in the UK, in different universities and schools for research. This shows that the text is a professional

piece of writing with research to back up the points made. The second text is set in the city the persona

is living and this place is not his/her home. It is, in fact, a different country than his/her home because of

the language difference. The persona describes the city from his/her point of view: “…strange, dark

city…” Since this is the first line of the poem, the audience immediately gets a negative feeling about the

setting. This feeling is carried out with other examples throughout the poem. For example, lines 2 and

14 to 15 have more negative connotation. Who would want to live in a”dismal dwelling,” which the

persona mentions as the place he/she lives? Lines 14 and 15 make this city she is living in as if its falling

apart in her eyes which is an affect created by the snow deflecting the neon lights (a simile). But the

poems share a similarity in the setting that both bilingual children and the persona of the poem are not

living in their home counties.

The texts are very different in the points of view they are written in. The article is not written

from any specific point of view. It is more of a report. Therefore, it makes sense to say that it was

written in third person point of view. The poem is from a first person point of view. Thus, it gives

apprehension of a casual foreigner’s feelings and thoughts. The poem is directed at the audience at

times with the word “you”. It connects the reader and the persona, making it easier to sympathize. In

lines 18 and 19, the persona says, “imagine that one of you says…” This shows that his/her point of view

on living abroad and being bilingual is a fear that all other foreigners like him/her share.

The tones and moods of the two texts are very distinct. The poem, clearly, is hopeless, regretful,

dark, and desperate. The word choice, structure of sentences and the use of enjambment help bring this

mood out. The persona is almost crying for help. The second stanza connects the feeling of home, being

a foreigner, language issues and emotions. It is the best example of the mood of the poem. The article,

on the other hand, doesn’t have a clear mood. This makes sense because it is a report of a study.

However, overall the article sounds as if their finding is a cheerful event. There is no negative tone or

mood throughout the entire article.

Structure varies as well because of the genres. The first text has very frequent paragraphs. Most

of the paragraphs are actually one sentence long. There are many quotes inserted from different

researchers. The article has been divided into 5 subsections. The poem has 4 stanzas, each of 5 lines

long. There is enjambment and use of shot sentences. Both of these techniques point out important

words and phrases. The best example to enjambment is in line 4: “your foreign accent…” The line starts

with these words but the sentence had started in the previous line. It points out having an accent and

being a foreign, as if the persona is not a part of something larger. The best example of short sentences

is in the last line:”Imagine that.” It has a very strong affect on the reader because the persona is almost

ordering the reader to imagine his/her position.

The article uses almost no stylistic devices unlike the poem. The poem has enjambment as

mentioned before, and visual and auditory sensory details. The visual details are in lines 1, 2, 10, 12, 13,

14, and 15. The auditory details are in lines 4, 5,6,7,8, 19 and 20. Both of these types of sensory details

describe the setting, events and the situation better. The reader creates a better image of the persona’s

life. Once the setting is created, these sounds and visuals take another step and bring the emotional

level of the poem. The reader starts feeling sympathy. However, since the article doesn’t use such

devices, the reader and the author of the article don’t get as much close or understanding to each other.

The choice of vocabulary between the two texts is very different too. The article says

“immigrants” whereas the poem chooses to say “foreign”. This shows the different reactions to being

from abroad. The word immigrant has a negative connotation because it gives the idea of leaving your

home because you are poor and need to work in a richer nation to make your living. When you say

foreigner, however, it is not known why exactly the person is there and how he/she came there. The

persona of the poem, in general has chosen words with emotional and negative connotation. The

vocabulary of the article is usually neutral.

Similarity of texts is that they touch the same topic of bilingualism and being foreigners.

First text is about the benefits of being bilingual, but in the situation where you are a foreigner

in some country. The second text, however, is the emotions of a foreigner living abroad with little

chance, almost none, to use his/her language and culture. Another difference is that the first text is a

news article and the other text is a poem. The third difference is in their content which directly affects

the mood; first text has a positive attitude while the second text is very dark and hopeless. The two texts

see bilingualism and being foreigners from different points of view: the poem sees it from a foreigner’s

point of view who is too caught in the negative sides of his/her position, while the article sees it from a

3rd person point of view which lacks the emotional part of the topic. The last difference is that the first

text bases its content from a study, but the second text bases its content from individual experience.

Both texts show that being a foreigner is both positive and negative. It is a hard experience that

is rewarding in end, having developed skills, and way of thinking is big thing in today’s world and is great

reward. There is also difference in the time the texts were published and in those two decades a lot

changed from social aspect, that in today’s society helps foreigners a lot, and they are more widely

accepted.