U4: AOS1: Language Variation in Australian Society

Question 1

Hypocoristic use of suffixes

Answer 1

Process of shortening, modifying or altering words from their original form by adding a suffix such as ‘o’ or ‘ie’.
Creates a more colloquial expression.

Question 2

Standard Australian English

Answer 2

The variety of Australian English that represents a common language standard agreed to by the general population.
-Generally follows British English.
-Double consonants, lexical differences

-Associated with prestige.

Question 3

Australian accents

Answer 3

Broad, General, Cultivated

Question 4

Broad Accent

Answer 4

Associated with working class and lack of education or refinement.
-Elision and assimilation

Question 5

General

Answer 5

The most common accent, heard on mainstream media

Question 6

Cultivated Accent

Answer 6

Patterned after the formerly prestigious British accent known as British Received Pronunciation.
-Associated with the upper class and education

Question 7

Common values associated with Australia’s national identity

Answer 7

Anti-authoritarianism
Anti-intellectualism
Connection to land
Connection to country
Democratic values
Egalitarianism
Laid-back attitudes
Mateship
Multiculturalism

Question 8

Anti-authoritarianism

Answer 8

Negative attitudes to those in authority

Question 9

Anti-intellectualism

Answer 9

Negative attitudes to intellectuals or highly educated people, often based on the belief that they are out of touch with ordinary people

Question 10

Connection to land

Answer 10

An affiliation with the land and its natural features is often used as a symbol of national identity

Question 11

Connection to country

Answer 11

For First Nations people, connection to Country is a central aspect of identity

Question 12

Democratic values

Answer 12

The values that underpin our governance, including our freedom to vote, gather and participate in products, express opinions and beliefs and the principle that everyone should be subject to the same laws.

Question 13

Egalitarianism

Answer 13

The idea that all individuals should have equal rights regardless of their status, wealth of background. “Fair go”

Question 14

Laid-back attitudes

Answer 14

Associated with the idea of taking things easy, not getting too stressed and living life.

Question 15

Mateship

Answer 15

Reflects the values of loyalty, solidarity and friendship

Question 16

Multiculturalism

Answer 16

Refers to a society that is made up of many different cultures, ideally celebrating diversity and inclusiveness

Question 17

Aboriginal Australian Englishes

Answer 17

Aboriginal Australian Englishes is an umbrella term used to refer to the many different varieties of English that many First Nations people speak.

Question 18

Migrant Ethnolect

Answer 18

A variety of language specific to a particular migrant community with a shared cultural background

Question 19

Purposes of Migrant ethnolects and AAEs

Answer 19

Maintain and express cultural identity
Facilitate communication
Foster a sense of community
Promote bilingualism and multilingualism
Contribute to the diversity and evolution of a language
Facilitate cultural exchange
Preserve and maintain heritage languages
Contribute to the linguistic richness of Australia

Question 20

Light varieties

Answer 20

AAEs similar to SAE, more urban areas

Question 21

Heavy varieties

Answer 21

AAEs similar to a creole

Question 22

Phonetic and Phonological features of Aboriginal Australia English

Answer 22

-Replace voiced ‘th’ with a voiced /d/. E.g. “dat”
-‘h’ sound added to words that start with a vowel
-Switch ‘k’ and ‘s’ sounds in ‘ask’ (metathesis)

Question 23

Morphological features of Aboriginal Australia English

Answer 23

-Omitting plural noun marking eg “two dog”
-Different verb tense
-

Question 24

Lexical features of Aboriginal Australia English

Answer 24

-Words that aren’t in SAE, such as borrowing from First Nations languages. E.G. “policeman” being “monatj”.

Question 25

Syntactic features of Aboriginal Australia English

Answer 25

-Auxiliary verb ommition “she wicked big” instead of “she is wicked big”.
-Reduced use of prepositions “Darwin way” meaning “going to Darwin.
-‘Bin’ used a tense marker “he bin came home” meaning “he came home”
-‘One’ used as a substitute indefinite article ‘she has one bag’ meaning ‘she has a bag’
-Use of double negative ‘I don’t know nothing’

Question 26

Semantic features of Aboriginal Australia English

Answer 26

-Kinship terms such as “Cousin” refering to all extended family members
-“Blak” used to reclaim and celebrate cultural identity
-“Country” is a culturally significant term

Question 27

Discourse and Pragmatic features of Aboriginal Australia English

Answer 27

-Primarily oral varieties
-“Yarning” meaning a conversational approach in which speakers share real-life experience and knowledge through different situational contexts; using paralinguistic features, prosodic features
-Discorse particle ‘ey’ confirms information or understanding.
-Declarative questioning instead of interrogative.
-Pragmatic use: eye contact could be seen as a face-threatening act in AAEs. Silence holds significance.

Question 28

Influence of Aboriginal Australian Englishes on Standard Australian English

Answer 28

-Names of plants and animals into SAE: “kangaroo”
-Use of traditional place names in SAE: “Wendouree”, “Uluru”, “Wathaurung”

Question 29

Phonetic and Phonological Features of Migrant Ethnolects

Answer 29

Assimilation, vowel reduction or insertion, elision, prosody

Question 30

Morphological Features of Migrant Ethnolects

Answer 30

Inflection patterns (conjugation, pluralisation), affixation

Question 31

Lexicological Features of Migrant Ethnolects

Answer 31

Borrowing, code-switching

Question 32

Syntactic Features of Migrant Ethnolects

Answer 32

Modification of word order, ellipsis, partically of prepositions and determinants.

Question 33

Semantic Features of Migrant Ethnolects

Answer 33

Culture-specific expressions, such as idiomatic expressions, metaphor with specific cultural meaning

Question 34

Discourse and Pragmatic Features of Migrant Ethnolects

Answer 34

Expected levels of formality, politeness strategies, types of discourse strategies

Question 35

Greek ethnolect

Answer 35

-Non-rhotic
-No voiced and voiceless ‘th’ sound
-Lexical borrowings
-Conversational ‘re’

Question 36

Lebanese Australian Ethnolect

Answer 36

-Certain parts of words for different durations
-Higher pitch into contractions ‘doon’t’
-Longer ‘er’ final sound
-Borrowings

Question 37

Cultural cringe

Answer 37

Playing down Australianess.
-Most Australians will accomodate their vocabulary

Question 38

Prescriptivist attitudes to SAE, AAE and ethnolects

Answer 38

-Attitudes to SAE often uphold it as the correct form of English
-Mistakes AAE and ethnolects as ‘broken’ due to a lack of understanding

Question 39

Descriptivist attitudes to SAE, AAE and ethnolects

Answer 39

Aims to describe language objectively without making judgements about what is correct.
-SAE is just one valid variety, as are AAEs and etholects.