Critical Language Awareness: Language Power Techniques and English Grammar is an online textbook freely available for anyone to use as an open educational resource. The book will have sixteen modules: eight language power techniques (LPT; odd numbered modules) each corresponding with eight grammar features (GF: even numbered modules), each of which typifies, but is not restricted to that technique.
There are 3 introductory modules including an introduction to language and power, an introduction to grammar, and an introduction to corpus analysis. Each LPT module begins with an outline and general discussion questions to situate understandings. Each is split into subsections that may refer and link to external readings (openly available online pieces) and concludes with discussion/reflection activities. Each module concludes with general discussion/reflection activities and a corpus analysis activity.
Each GF module begins with focus on what the feature is, including morphological information. Using clear examples, different aspects of the feature are then thoroughly explored in subsections, each linked to an interactive online activities using H5P technology and most also linked to optional corpus analysis activities using the Corpus of Contemporary American English.
The modules are designed to be usable independently and in sequence. Only the LPT modules can be used, or only the GF modules can be used. Any of the modules can be used with or without the corpus analysis activities.
Part One
1. Metaphor
Metaphor is a technique that involves equating a new idea with an idea that the audience (readers or listeners) already understand, so that they can conceptualize the new idea.
2. Sentence Basics
This module introduces the basics of sentence structures, including subjects, predicates, clause basics, phrases, agreement, transitivity, and linking verbs.
3. Doublespeak
Inspired by the writings of George Orwell, William Lutz coined the term “doublespeak” to refer to a kind of language that seeks to “mislead, distort, deceive, inflate, circumvent, obfuscate” (Lutz 2016: 24).
4. Nouns
This module covers the basics of nouns, including noun types (e.g. gerunds, compound nouns), noun categories (e.g. count/non-count, singular/plural), and noun phrases.
5. Pronoun Choice & Address Forms
Pronouns are fundamental grammatical devices that help us reduce the number of times we need to repeat nouns (e.g: replacing ‘boy’ with ‘he’, ‘him’, ‘his’, or a ‘queer person’ with ‘they’, ‘them’, their’), and address forms are another basic linguistic device we use to address different people around us (e.g. sir, man, dude, bro etc.).
6. Pronouns
This module covers the basics of pronouns, including pronoun types (e.g. personal, possessive, reflexive, etc.) and parameters (number, case, person, & gender).
7. Name-calling & Epithets
Grammatically making use of nouns and adjectives, name-calling involves the pejorative use of a linguistic or literary device called an epithet – a commonly-used descriptive name for someone or something that is additional to their actual name.
8. Adjectives & Determiners
This module covers the basics of adjectives & determiners, including gradability, comparability, attributive, and predicative adjectives, and definite and indefinite articles and other determiners.
Part Two (available January 2024)
9. Hyperbole
Hyperbole is a rhetorical technique or figure of speech that exaggerates the facts of an event, idea, or person to an unrealistic degree such that it massively increases their intensity and evokes a strong emotional response in the audience (usually of shock, fear, or surprise, etc.). For example, instead of saying “It was an excellent concert”, one might use hyperbole and say “it was the most excellent concert in the history of this planet!”. Grammatically making use of adjectives in their various forms, hyperbole is used frequently in literature and pop culture. However, its use is especially powerful when it’s used in advertising and political rhetoric to influence people to behave or act in particular ways without their awareness. For example, beauty and health products might use hyperbole to tell its potential customers that they may be the most beautiful, the strongest, or the most desirable person in their circles if they use their product; a beer company might imply that the most interesting people in the world drink their beer, even though there’s no way they could determine who those people actually are.
10. Adverbs & Prepositions
11. Storytelling & Censorship
Storytelling is how humans share ideas, humor, beliefs, and histories and relate to one another. Storytelling is also how they deceive and fool one another, by telling lies or false narratives. Stories are told through narratives, which in English use various combination of verb tense and aspect – for example, past tense and progressive aspect are both used in “We were heading to the park when we saw a shooting star”. Since shared history and understanding happens through storytelling, some try to “control the narrative” about events as they are shared through media by presenting their version as the sole truth, even though there are always multiple perspectives on it. Others, like leaders of governmental, religious, and educational institutions, may try to control histories through censorship particular perspectives and narratives.
12. Verbs I: Tense, Aspect, & Modality
13. Weasel Language
Weasel language refers to language that allows the speaker or writer to be vague, to generalize, and to hide or mask authority on purpose – for example, when a reporter uses passive voice even when they know the agent, as in ‘Rioters were apprehended’, instead of ‘Police beat protestors’. Weasel language is ideal for propaganda and disinformation because it is sneaky and easy to miss; for example, a news report might say ‘A crowd of people demanded’ instead of ‘A crowd of thousands of people demanded’ in order to downplay the size of the crowd, or someone might say ‘It is said that..’ or ‘They say that…’ in passing without allowing for the reply ‘wait, who is ‘they’?’ Technically, they’re not lying, but are they being entirely honest?
14. Verbs II: Voice & Mood
15. Logical Fallacies
Logical fallacies are false arguments that can be proven wrong through logic; they often involve weasel language and other deceptive techniques, for example omitting information, repeating it, or exaggerating it (i.e. using hyperbole). Propaganda techniques that often involve logical fallacies include slippery slope arguments, causal fallacies, circular arguments, hasty generalizations, red herrings, and bandwagon appeals. Grammatically, logical fallacies often make use of negation and conjunctions, e.g. ‘so’, ‘because’, ‘therefore’, and ‘however’, that connect two clauses and imply logical relationships between their assertions.
The Clarify Initiative 