Comparison of Mumsnet forum and Guardian article


There is a clear difference in audience between the two texts. This difference in who the text is intended for is displayed in the difference in language used. The mumsnet text has more common use of simple sentences such as 'I was nominated to post 5 pictures which make me happy to be a mother' whereas the Guardian article has more compound and complex sentences such as 'a challenge is coping with grief when you wish you were dead, or pushing your mind and body to the limit in a feat of superhuman endurance'. The use of simple sentences in the first text shows a more rushed, basic tone which reflects on the audience that the writer is intending their text to be read by; it shows that the text is likely to be read by mothers who stereotypically will not have as much time to be both reading and understanding more complex sentences. However, the Guardian article portrays a more mature tone; the writer will be appealing towards a middle-class, educated audience who stereotypically would have more time to read and comprehend complex and compound sentences.


The use of noun phrases between the two texts differs in meaning greatly. In the mumsnet text, noun phrases such as 'egotistical lemmings' suggest a sarcastic and pretenscious tone, this represents the users of this forum as somewhat magniloquent, this tone is common in the Guardian article, however, this is more expected of the stereotypical Guardian writer, Noun phrases such as 'glow worms in padded snowsuits' show a snobbish manner and make themselves seem as if they know better even about how to dress a child.