Features of Aboriginal Australian English

Question 1

Ab - phonology

Answer 1

• Variability in stop voicing (good as kut)
• Replacement of fricatives with stops (very as berri)
• Deletion of /h/ in initial position (happy to hapi)
• Hypercorrection of /h/ (uncle to huncle)

Question 2

Morphology + syntax

Answer 2

• Omission of copula be
• Use of seen + come as simple past of see + come (“I see my friends yesterday” instead of “I saw…”)
• Use of was rather than were (eg. “We was riding our bikes” instead of “we were…”).
• Non-use of plural -s marking (eg. one dog, two dog).

Question 3

Omission of copula be

Answer 3

• Copula verbs link subject + subject’s components.
• Am, are, is, was, were (verb ‘to be’).
• Eg. “Jane is my friend” to “Jane is friend”.

Question 4

Lexicology + semantics

Answer 4

• Deadly = good
• My mob = family or people.
• Auntie or uncle = use as broad term for any elder in community.

Question 5

Attitudes towards Aboriginal Englishes

Answer 5

How a discourse/transcripts demonstrates the attitudes help by the audience at the time.
- Ab English use in text = demonstrates evolvement of Ab Eng to be accepted + recognised enough to be understood.
- Is Ab Eng speaker is conforming to SAE = demonstrating lack of knowledge + recognition that outside speakers hold.

Question 6

Kinship - social aspect of Aboriginal Englishes

Answer 6

Aboriginal English speakers understand the concept of family as including the whole community.
- ‘Bro’, ‘sis’, ‘bub’, ‘cuz’ - to refer to people of same generation.
- ‘Aunty’, ‘uncle’ - refer to older generations.

Question 7

Markers of respect

Answer 7

• Indirectness - when making request (eg. “you going to town” to request transport).
• Eye contact/gaze - considered rude in many Aboriginal societies.
• Silence - extended silence before answering questions is norm, could signal comfort.