Impersonal Voice (text 7) (1 Viewer)

kloudsurfer

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Hey,

I read somewhere that 'The Town Where Time Stands Still' uses 'impersonal voice.

The term is new to me, but all I can find are complicated explanations, half of which seem to contradict each other. Im so confused!!!!

Could anyone please explain to me what exactly impersonal voice is and how does Text 7 use it.

Any help would be great!!!

Thanks
 

Bobness

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Impersonal voice is when the tone or register (they are different, you're best to focus on just one or - if it within your capabilities - to explain the dynamics between them) used in the text distances the responder from it.

In layman's terms, when the voice is neutral and neither hyperbolic or understated.
 

kloudsurfer

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Bobness said:
Impersonal voice is when the tone or register (they are different, you're best to focus on just one or - if it within your capabilities - to explain the dynamics between them) used in the text distances the responder from it.

In layman's terms, when the voice is neutral and neither hyperbolic or understated.
So its simply the tone?

All the explanations I found seemed to revolve around verbs and subjects and other crazy gramatical stuff (I mean, ftw is the valency of a verb lol??!!?).

For example, the phrase 'It was raining' uses impersonal voice because the verb voice isnt attatched to a specifc subject.

I thought that was what it meant? Or is that something different?

And why do I always read your name as 'boobness'? I think its the picture that makes me think that lol
 

Bobness

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kloudsurfer said:
So its simply the tone?

All the explanations I found seemed to revolve around verbs and subjects and other crazy gramatical stuff (I mean, ftw is the valency of a verb lol??!!?).

For example, the phrase 'It was raining' uses impersonal voice because the verb voice isnt attatched to a specifc subject.

I thought that was what it meant? Or is that something different?

And why do I always read your name as 'boobness'? I think its the picture that makes me think that lol
You're probably reading linguistics and grammatical theory which is too much for even advanced english let alone area of study.

Impersonal voice can just be:

"It was a cold dark night. The floorboards creaked as Bob walked across the verandah of his home. Silence pervaded."

Whereas a personal voice is just:

"Why don't i tell you a story of my youth? Oh it was terrifying, such a cold dark night. I could feel the floorboards creak beneath me as the silence pervaded around my home."

There simple done. Of course if you layk deconstruct my sentences to reveal that i must hold some deep resentment against my father as i associate the feminine domain of the home with patriarchal hegemony, you might also find that linguistically it is not a 'pure' eg of impersonal voice.

However for the english hsc syllabus the above will suffice, so please focus less on the techniques and more on how said technique highlights a specific point due to its effect before linking this back to the question, concept, focus :)

Boobness must be your psychoanalytical manifestation of repressed queer theoristic values :eek:
 

sexylatinachica

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Bobness,

I'm also looking for techniques on Geok-Lim's "Town Where Time Stands Still" also. Most booklets handed out by the teachers are, unfortunately, limited and/or simplistic. Like KloudSurfer mentioned, most of the technique analysis refers to tone, but this is NOT [repeat NOT] enough to build a paragraph on. I like the text because of it's content [ supports my thesis very nciely, in fact] and want to use it, but a few more techniques than "complicated language", "impersonal tone", and "complex sentence structure" would be helpful.
 

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