Creativity in Literacy Practices

fanciful thinking in Literacy Practices A TEXTUAL AND con school textbook editionual APPROACH by Agatha Xaris Villa INTRODUCTION AT PRESENT, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF LINGUISTIC fancifulness. THEY DIFFER IN THE vogue THE WAY THAT THEY CONCEPTUALIZE WHAT COUNTS AS CREATIVENESS OR LITERARINESS IN LANGUAGE AS WELL AS IN THE METHODS THEY USE TO IDENTIFY AND ANALYZE CREATIVITY IN habitual LANGUAGE.This essay begins by discussing and exploring the premises of an analysis of creativeness at text level following a textual lift to literacy and creative thinking assessing the extent to which it is effective in identify creativity in literacy behaves such as diaries, letters and graffiti.However, I would like to continue by typifying the argument that while literacy practices do offer opportunities for creativity at text level, the study and identification of creativity in literacy practices whitethorn be much than productive when studied with a broader sig ht one that goes beyond the limits of the text and considers the sour of consideration in the production, reception and processing of texts, literary practices and creativity. creativity in literacy practices at text level LITERACY IS AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF E preciseDAY LIFE AND IS A PART OF EVEN OUR MOST MUNDANE tender PRACTICES.WHILE THE ROLE WHICH LITERACY PLAYS IN SITUATIONS MAY VARY IN IMPORTANCE, IN THE stage setting OF LITERACY EVENTS WHERE LITERACY PLAYS A SIGNIFICANT ROLE, INDIVIDUALS DEVELOP CHARACTERISTIC AND PATTERNED WAYS OF exploitation AND INTERACTING WITH TEXTS. THESE HABITUAL PATTERNS HOLD DIFFERENT MEANING AND VALUES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND ARE WHAT WE diagnose TO AS LITERACY PRACTICES. Creativity in literacy practices at the level of the text may be set by steering on special linguistic forms that stand out in texts. This pproach is modeled after what C inventioner (1999) called an inherency perspective which perceives creativity as being inherent in the cre ative uses of speech internal in text. The focus is on the generators skill in the manipulation of linguistic forms that constitute text on the phonological, grammatical and semantic level. Roman Jakobson (1960), one of the well-known advocates of this nestle, was concerned with the poetic bring of verbiage which was recollectd to be in close relation to literariness in text.He argued that the poetic function of language involves the foregrounding of language forms which have the ability to draw upkeep to themselves making a notice adequate to(p) impact on the reader. Foregrounding results from rhetorical choices which may come as (1) deviations from the norms of everyday language (e. g. the use of diametric writing systems, lexis and figurative language such as metaphor and simile or (2) prominent patterns of parallelisms in phonology, grammar and semantics (e. g. meter, rhyme, etc. (Maybin and P auriclece, 2006, p. 6 9). By bring out the poetic usages of language, we can identify creativity in diaries at the text level. The metaphoric descriptions and dramatic portrayal of entities and levelts in diaries atomic number 18 ship canal in which individuals attempt to explore their feelings regarding their experience of the real world that atomic number 18 lots difficult to describe. In addition, repeated structures and rhythms are commonly utilize in diaries as a form of emphasizing points in the writers diary entry.Such examples of poetic language may also be identified in letters. In Margaretta Jollys (1997) study of contend letters, she states that letters are probably the most common form of creative writing. Her examples point out the creative focusing in which letter-writers are able to use language forms such as imagery, metaphoric and rhetorical devices as well as parallelism ( to a great extent commonly colligate to literature) for the purpose increase the texts emotional and persuasive impact and highlighting wrinkle and subtle ties of moment (Maybin, 2006, p. 72). The art of graffiti is a long-standing tradition with the ability to bring out creativity at text level both in its traditionalistic and embellished form. Creativity is seen in the use of rhythmic repetition, puns and contradictory voices (as in caricature and irony), the use of non-standard spelling and punctuation (usually in line with a particular(a) artistic style) and the use of text and decoration for aesthetic and communicative purposes.While it is come-at-able to be able to identify creativity in literacy practices at text level, this approach is somewhat limited because it fails to take into grade (1) the interactive features and functions of literacy practice, (2) the fascinate of its socio-cultural and historical context and to a greater extent keyly (3) the creativity in language practices that is inherent and emergent from social practices in particular contexts.Therefore, I notify that a better and more efficient way to i dentify and judge creativity in literacy practices, is one that approaches literacy from a more contextual approach, more specifically from an ethnographic perspective. Creativity and literacy practices from an ethnographic approach According to the ethnographic approach defined by Papen and Tusting (2006, p. 312-359), creativity refers the production of something bare-assed and authorized. In written language, creativeness should not be sensed as a decontextualised, individual activity or as being merely shaped by context.It should be seen as being dependent on and emergent from the creative literacy practices by means of which texts are constructed because they are shaped by people, who in pursuit of their own goals and purposes, actively draw on the interactional, contextual and socio-cultural possibilities easy in the particular social situation they are embedded. Literacy practices are inherently creative in and of themselves. The ethnographic perspective takes into acco unt the broader social- semipolitical context within which creativity is locate and through their examination of iteracy practices and texts, advocates of the ethnographic approach found three major characteristics of creativity in writing. To begin, by focusing on peoples literacy practices instead than just texts, they noted that creative texts are produced as a result of interactive collaboration. Diaries, although written by a single person, emerge from an individuals account and contemplation of events and various conversations and interactions with people.Diaries and journals are dialogic practices wherein the writer addresses and responds to a reader and have the electric potential to be re-contextualized in different publications to address a wider readership (Maybin, 2006, p. 269) This dialogical aspect is more evident in web blogs or online journals in which people often condemnations (1) write in response to the entries of former(a)s, (2) write entries addressed to o thers and (3) write with the vista and even the goal to get as much response from others. Maybin (2006, p. 73) tells us that letters are even more intensely dialogic in character. I believe that letters are best viewed as mediums of correspondence wherein we present written versions of our person-to-person experience, relationships and identities in relation to an assumed reader who thus responds by confirming or questioning. Letters are shaped by and inspire collaborative practices An interesting characteristic of graffiti that I believe exemplifies the collaborative nature of creativity is the way that graffiti attracts graffiti (Macdonald, 2006).A graffiti-covered jetty may look like vandalism to law-enforcers or a rather threatening cacophony of names to the common passerby but it constitutes a symbolic exchange between members of a sub-group. In the world of graffiti, tags located on the same space are often interpreted in relation to their positioning and proximity to each other. They may be viewed as a sign of respect, acknowledgement or outright disregard a reflection of the intensely competitive nature of this practice.In addition to the collaborative nature of creative literary practices, the ethnographic approach pays careful attention to the influence of the context of reading and writing in the development of creative practices (Papen and Tusting, 2006, p. 320). They argued that in any given opportunity, there is particular set of possibilities and reserves that provides the opportunity for creativity. This involves affordances (i. e. properties of the environment, arising from its tangible characteristics which may be positive or negative depending on the individual) from untested forms of technology, discourse conventions as well as inter-textual and material resources available to producers of text. An important thing to note is while possibilities may cast what is possible in any given context, the possibilities associated with a sett ing do not determine what is created.For example, while people may be able to describe events, sights and even people through the practice of diaries and letters, there are abstractions such as feelings and intensely traumatic situations (such as in war) that are far more difficult to describe and articulate. In order to overcome this type of constraint on expression, writers make use of metaphoric language and parallelisms, enabling them to deliver their feelings and experiences in words that their readers may be able to relate to. Creativity may also emerge from socially-constrained situations.Graffiti emerged from the same socially and economically impoverished areas in America where gangs are notoriously prominent. Because graffiti is an act of illegitimacy and opposition, graffiti artists face the constant risk of being caught by the patrol or by rival gangs each time they make a tag or do a piece. But this hazardous and intensely competitive literacy practice is a stage o n which three-year-old men may choose an identity of their own making, present it in the style of their choice and regain control of their own fate ingenuous from the constraints of their socio-economic backgrounds (Mcdonald, 2006).Social, economic or technological changes may result in the psychiatric hospital of young affordance and constraints to any given context (Papen and Tusting, 2006, p. 325). For example, the popularization of the internet brought astir(predicate) the development of Computer Mediated Communication (CMC), resulting in the creation of new literary genres and changes in literacy practices. According to Kress (2003), creativity may be perceived as inherent in CMC using the two concepts of transformation and transduction.Transformation is the way that the text producers manipulate the forms of signs within a mode to suit their ask and interests. Transduction, on the other hand, refers to the action of semiotic material between modes where meaning configu red in one mode is moved to another. Online diaries, known as online blogs, perform the same function as traditional diaries and even go for the same linguistic forms. However, bloggers now have access to a greater degree of interactive, inter-textual and multi-modal resources.Whereas in the past, writers creatively used language to express their thoughts and feelings through metaphors and similes, bloggers can now make use of pictures, videos, music, emoticons, avatars and (through hyper-linking) other texts to represent themselves and their lives online. Similarly, the literacy practice of letter-writing is far from extinct in todays modern ear but has taken up a new form that is, electronic mail (e-mail). As a medium of communication, email has enabled cross-cultural communication and the creation of online relationships and networking communities.Finally, the ethnographic perspective sees creative literacy practices in everyday carriage as being embedded in socio-cultural pr actices situated in institutional, political and economic structures. These structures are in a constant state of movement and change therefore pickings on a historical perspective towards literacy practices is a necessity. Based on observation and study, changes in socio-economic conditions are often accompanied by changes in the linguistic and semiotic means available to a community as in the case of the following account of changes to a Nepali rural community Papen and Tusting, 2006, p. 328). The 1980s was a time of great social and economic change in Junigau, Nepal. In 1983, the closure set up its first high school, providing greater access to study for men and women resulting in great changes to the literacy practices used by the young. A new form of prolonged courtship (i. e. , love-letter writing) had beseem increasingly popular among the youth, up gender relations and changing marriage practices (as the young were becoming more resistant towards arranged marriages).The w ay in which these love-letters encapsulated new ideas on personal identity and individual agency which held no cultural precedent in their village is an example of how social and cultural change is closely related to the creation of new literacy practices (Papen and Tusting, 2006, p. 328) Conclusion ANALYZING CREATIVITY AT TEXT LEVEL, ALLOWED US TO IDENTIFY CREATIVENESS IN TEXTS AS IS REVEALED BY THE USE OF poetic LANGUAGE OR LINGUISTIC FORMS COMMONLY ASSOCIATED WITH LITERATURE.THIS APPROACH HOWEVER WAS VERY MUCH LIMITED DUE MAINLY BY THE NARROWNESS OF THE INHERENCY simulateS DEFINITION OF WHAT CONSTITUTES AS CREATIVITY AS WELL AS TO ITS LACK OF CONSIDERATION OF CONTEXTUAL FACTORS AND THE INHERENCY OF CREATIVITY IN LITERACY PRACTICES. In taking an ethnographic/historical perspective, characteristics of creativity that are inherent in literacy practices become more salient. Through our understanding of the three characteristics of creativity in literacy practices, weve identified cr eativity beyond the level of the text.This contextual approach showed us how creativity is exhibited in literacy practices in the way that (1) texts are read and used, how the writer interacts with other individuals(2) how people are able to creatively use language in relation to the possibilities and constraints available in particular contexts and finally, (3) individuals are able to set and respond to changes in discourse practices and socio-cultural conditions. References CARTER, R. (1999). COMMON LANGUAGE CORPUS, CREATIVITY AND cognizance, LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE, 8(3), P. 196-216 Jakobson, J. (1960). Closing statement linguistics and poetics, in T. A. Sebeok (ed. ) Style in Language, MIT Press. Jolly, M. (1997). Everyday Letters and Literary Form Coresspondence from the Second World struggle, unpublished MPhil, University of Sussex. Kress, G. (2003). Literacy in the new Media Age. London and New York, Routledge. Macdonald, N. (2006). Chapter 6. Reading B The spray-can is mi ghteier than the sword graffiti writing and the construction of masculine identity in Maybin, J. and Swann, J. (eds) The art of side everyday creativity. Palgrave Macmillan/The Open University, p. 293 302. Maybin, J. 2006)(Ed. ) Chapter 6 Writing the self, in Maybin, J. and Swann, J. (eds) The art of English everyday creativity. Palgrave Macmillan/The Open University, p. 261 279. Maybin, J. and Pearce, M. (2006). Chapter 1 literary productions and creativity in English in Goodman, S. and OHalloran, K. (eds) The art of English literary creativity. Palgrave Macmillan/The Open University, p. 6-9. Papen, U. and Tusting, K. (2006). Chapter 7 Literacies, collaboration and context in Maybin, J. and Swann, J. 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