Humans breathe language in every minute of their lives.

Humans constantly use language to express their feelings, give their opinions, ask for help; in other words, people use language to communicate. The formal paradigm of linguistics takes a linear approach to language. The real use of language is not as important as the abstract knowledge of it, while functional linguistics focuses on the chief function of language, communication. On the one hand, there are two important authors that help to understand language within the structural linguistics, Chomsky and de Saussure; on the other hand, sociolinguist Dell Hymes, support a different idea of language. To begin with, Chomskys ideas are of primary importance, even though they have been widely criticized.

ZERO HOUR CAUSE AND EFFECT At the simplest level, Zero Hour is a story of the invasion of the earth. At a deeper level, Zero hour deals with the relationship between modern societies and their children. From this point of view, the story delves into the loss of imagination and the extremely important tasks that adults perform which prevent them to predict the invasion. As a result of adults inattention to children, the earth is invaded by aliens. There were three important causes that led to the invasion of the earth. Society was unaware of possible conflicts, especially from other planets. In few cases do adults pay attention to childrens games and warns. Children turned into the perfect weapon for aliens. No sooner had society bring peace to the world than an invasion from another planet started. The fact that humans were unaware of possible conflicts, along with the aliens cleverness at finding humans weakness, helped the invasion to take place. Throughout this story, one can notice the danger that lurks when parents ignore their children. Furthermore, it links the idea of age and loss of imagination, for example, when Minks mother (as well as other parents) does not pay attention to the game invasion. The story also raises the question of how innocent children really are.

THE STAR DUCKS COMPARISON CONTRAST (POINT BY POINT) 1. LIFE STYLES ALSOPS RAFFERTY

2. RELATIONSHIP WITH ALIENS ALSOPS RAFFERTY

3. VALUES ALSOPS RAFFERTY

At the simplest level, The Star Ducks is a story of news reporting. At a deeper level, the story deals with the ethical standards of reporters, the prejudices against country dwellers, and the craftiness of the latter. From this level, one can notice all the unscrupulous actions that the reporter does and the nave image of the Alsops. There is little resemblance between the Alsops and Rafferty as regards their lives, their attitudes towards the aliens, and their values. The Alsops life was completely different to that of Raffertys.