Representing actions with nouns
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Reasons for representing actions with nouns | page 4 of 9 |
Manipulating the elements in a text
Nominalisation can be exploited by writers in order to manipulate the various elements
of a text, so influencing the reader's response. In some cases, the use of a nominalised
form (especially when used with a possessive) allows the writer to present the initial proposition 
as an established fact:
In London, he gained a reputation as a crook. (Microconcord Corpus B)
This is a useful device for a writer to use, as foregrounding an idea in this way can have the subtle effect of persuading the reader to accept the initial proposition as truth instead of questioning it closely. For example, we do not know how many people assume him to be a crook (or who these people are), nor do we know whether the "reputation" is deserved or not.
When reporting news events, journalists use a range of devices, including
nominalisation, to foreground certain aspects of a situation, and to obscure, or conceal
other aspects. Consider the way the writer chooses to present the various elements of a
complex, and emotionally charged situation, in this excerpt from a local newspaper 
:
Fay described how another of the teenagers was beaten so severely by the Singaporean police that he lost the hearing in one ear. His lawyers say the summary prepared by Fay after his detention has the ring of truth, especially in his description of a brutal interrogation and of the "air-con room'', which lawyers say is commonly used to encourage confessions. (SCMP 19/4/94)
Once we start thinking more closely about the situation, it is clear that it is the
police who are the people responsible for three of the events represented by
nominalisations, and by unpacking the nominalisations in this way, we
can draw attention to what has been concealed:
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The police detained Fay. |
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The police brutally interrogated Fay. |
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The police commonly "encourage", ie force, people to confess to crimes, presumably by using violence and intimidation. |
By using nominalisation in this way, the writer has the option to subtly influence the
reader's response to a situation .
Introduction
Manipulating the elements in a text
