I recently visited the huge, beautiful NECA-IBEW Technical Institute, the
apprenticeship program for union electrical workers just southwest of
Chicago. Like several other local union apprenticeship programs, this one is
developing links to community colleges and in this case to 4-year BA granting
institutions so that people coming into the trade as apprentices will also be
on track for gathering a college degree down the line.
Often, the hitch in arranging such an articulation comes from the general
education requirements -- especially English comp -- of the articulating
institution.
The issue can be seen as competing views of what constitutes a text. The
texts that apprentices learn to read include multi-dimensional diagrams and
multi-level indexes, for example. Expand this to occupationl/technical
programs generally and we get texts that look like what Jay posted -- weather
reports for flight plans, for exmaple, and blueprints, codes of various sorts
(this relates to why I was so happy to see Peter Smagorinsky's broad sweep of
what constituted a text).
Practical implications of grasping that these special registers are ways of
reading and writing include reducing the tension between liberal arts and
occpupational/technical programs in community colleges, accreditation for
technical programs seeking articulation agreements, recruitment into
apprenticeship programs....etc.
Helena Worthen
Jay Lemke wrote:
> For amusement, edification, and challenge, here is an unusual lect (usually
> called a special register) that is evidently quite easily understood within
> its intended community.
>
> I assume fluent/native speakers of some lect in the English family have an
> advantage, though not sure how much, over others with indirect or late
> familiarity with Englishes. In this case there is no evident influence from
> other language traditions (at least recently), but the text struck me for
> how similar the task of reading is to reading texts transcribed from
> dialects less familiar to me. Again, having it as a written variety helps a
> lot. There is no inherent or forced pacing, giving outsiders more time to
> catch up. The source should become obvious. A URL is given.
>
> 573 FXUS61 KOKX 081844 AMD AFDOKX AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED WL
> ISSUE WND ADVISORY THRU EVNG NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY 245 PM
> EDT SAT APR 8 2000 LOTS GOING ON. CHC SVR/HEAVY RAINS...STRONG SLY
> WND...MORE RAIN...TURNING MUCH COLDER...VERY STRONG NW FLO AND SNOW IN
> APRIL. WL NEED A REST OF TDY PD. SVR WX THREAT CONTS TO BE FOCUSED ALG FNT
> FROM THE NEW YORK METRO AND W. HAVE STRONG MAR INFLUENCE ACRS LI AND CT BUT
> CAN STILL GET STRONG GUSTS AS FNT COMES THRU. SLY FLO IMPRESSIVE ATTM. WE
> ARE IN THE RIGHT REAR QUAD OF UPR JET WITH FROPA. WL KEEP CHC TSTM IN FCST
> TIL ABT MIDNIGHT...CHC FOR SVR WOULD BE EARLY. WL NEED A WND ADVISORY THRU
> THIS EVNG. GOT REPORT OF G41MPH IN MEDFORD LI. JFK HOWLING. GOTTA DO IT.
> TNGT...BEHIND THE FNT...RAIN AND DROPPPING TEMPS WITH STRONG CAA. RAIN
> SHOULD CHANGE TO SNOW IN INALND NW ZONES. LO PROGGED TO COME RIGHT OVR FA
> SO WINDS SHOULD SLAKEN SOME WHEN SHIFTING FROM THE S TO NW. SUN...GRAD
> TIGHTEN TREMEDOUSLY ON BACKSIDE OF LO BY SUNRISE. WL ISSUE WIND ADVISORY
> WITH THIS PACKAGE FOR SUN FOR SUSTAINED WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS 45
> TO 50 MPH POSSIBLE. UPR TROF AND STRONG SHORT WAVE MOV OVR FA SUN. WL CONT
> WITH LIKELY POPS WL BE MAINLY IN THE MRNG INTO THE AFTN. SNOW NW INLAND
> SECTION ACCUMULATION 1 TO 2 IN MAINLY HIGHER ELEVATIONS. RAIN SHOWERS REST
> OF FA WITH SNOW MIXING IN AT TIMES. M/CLDY...CLD CVR SHOULD BEGIN BREAK UP
> LT AFTN WRN SECTIONS. WL WORD TEMPS ONLY IN THE AS THEY CHJANGE LITTLE FOR
> OVERNIGHT LOWS AND WL ADD WID CHILL READING IN THE 20S...ARND 20S INLAND.
> WL BE A TOUGH APRIL DAY. SUN NIGHT...V/CLDY. CLD ASSOCIATED WITH LO MOV OUT
> BUT GET AN ANOTHER SHOT OF ENERGY. MODELS INDICATE WWA AT 700. AVN
> INDICATES PLENTY OF 850 MSTR ASSOCIATED WITH WAVE. WINDS DIMINISHING FROM
> VERY WINDY CONDITIONS. MON...P/SUNNY AS WAVE MOVES ON BY BUT WEAK
> DISTURBANCES IN FAST BCMG ZONAL FLO. AVN INDICATED CIRRUS WELL AHD OF SYS
> DEVELOPING OVR PLNS REACHES OUR RGN. TEMPS MODERATE BACK TO NEAR SEASONABLE
> LVLS. BREEZY AS GRAD RMNS. MARINE...WL RAISE GALE. THANKS FOR THE CALL PHL.
> .OKX...GALE WARNING FOR ALL CSTL WTRS (ANZ355-353-350-338-335-330). $$
> http://twister.sbs.ohio-state.edu/text/wxascii/forecasts/FXUS61.KOKX
>
> I assume this lect arose from the use of teletype communications in the
> pre-internet era. The all-caps in standard. This lect is probably typical
> of what happens in small communities where much context is shared, even at
> a distance. It certainly has much in common with the lexical compressions
> typical of modern scientific and technical lects generally. No further
> commentary from me. Enjoy.
>
> JAY.
>
> ---------------------------
> JAY L. LEMKE
> PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION
> CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
> JLLBC@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU
> <http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/education/jlemke/index.htm>
> ---------------------------
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue May 23 2000 - 09:21:14 PDT