year 12 summer school unit 3 head start lecture 2019 · year 12 summer school unit 3 head start...

YEAR 12 SUMMER SCHOOL

Unit 3 Head Start Lecture

2019

Unit 3 English Language –PART 1

Saturday 21st January, 2019Penny Tully

UNIT 3 AOS 1:

INFORMAL LANGUAGE

GOALS FOR TODAY

To introduce some of the more challenging aspects of AOS 1 of the Unit 3 English Language course

To have the opportunity to ask questions and clarify understanding prior to the commencement of your Year 12 study

To get some study and knowledge-gathering tips

To network with other English Language students from other schools – this can be a really valuable resource in this particular subject!

A little bit about me

What do you already know (or think you know) about the Unit 3 course?

AOS 1: Informal Language

Key metalanguage and elements of the course (nature and functions, register and levels of formality, language variations and social purpose, context, Standard/Non-Standard English, face and politeness, e-communication, text types and domains, features of informal language, spoken informal language

Collecting your own examples – why and how

Examples of 2018 resources

Helpful resources

BASIC OUTLINE OF THE DAY

Unit 3 AOS 1:

Informal Language(Page 1 of booklet)

Today we will be exploring AOS 1: Informal Language

Tomorrow you will focus on AOS 2: Formal Language

Make sure you understand the way your overall mark will be

constructed:

- Unit 3 = 25% (AOS 1&2 SACs weighted equally)

- Unit 4 = 25% (AOS 1&2 SACs weighted equally)

- Exam = 50% (3 sections – details on pages 2-3 of booklet)

Make sure you are very familiar with the Key Knowledge and Key

Skills outlined in the VCAA Study Design for this Area of Study

METALANGUAGE

Throughout the year you will learn a great deal of metalanguage. It

is VITAL that you are able to understand and apply this knowledge.

Listed on pages 5 - 6 of your booklet is the metalanguage outlined in

the Study Design. These are terms and phrases you might be directly

tested on in Section A of the exam or need to apply in Section B or

C.

A good idea is to go through and highlight what you already know,

and continue to highlight and mark off when you learn new terms.

Try not to be overwhelmed by the vast quantity - they will be

relevant you enter each new AOS and there are many ways to help

you learn and remember them.

We will cover some of the more relevant and/or tricky terms

throughout today and tomorrow’s sessions to give you a head start.

(Pages 5 - 6 of booklet)

THE NATURE AND FUNCTIONS OF

INFORMAL LANGUAGE(Page 1 - 2 of booklet)

Spend a few minutes adding notes/dot-points to the

‘Self-reflection’ questions on pages 7 – 8.

We will briefly discuss your findings as a group – feel free

to add new ideas that others have come up with!

WHAT IS INFORMAL LANGUAGE?

According to the Oxford Dictionary: Informal language

is mainly used between people who know each other

well, or in relaxed and unofficial contexts.

Remember: Informal language is not ‘incorrect’ or

‘wrong’. It is often non-Standard* and very heavily

based on contextual elements, but is often

appropriate to use in particular situations or

relationships.

*We will explore the notions of Standard and non-Standard

English later in today’s session so don’t panic if this is

unfamiliar to you right now…

REGISTER AND LEVELS OF

FORMALITY

It is important to understand that

language is not simply ‘formal’ or

‘informal’ – there is a CONTINUUM of

formality that language spreads across,

just like there are different levels of

formality in other areas of life such as

clothing or restaurants.

This will be explored over the following

slides…

(Pages 9 - 10 and 12 of booklet)

THE REGISTER CONTINUUM

‘Frozen’ texts: the

Bible, medical

textbooks

Snapchat

captions

Field

Tenor

Mode

Activity:

Plotting texts on the Register Continuum

Literacy for learning: Australian edition Module 1

doctor–patient consultation

email to friend

principal’s letter

insurance claim covering letter

For the following texts, place them on the Register Continuum from least

formal to most formal. Be prepared to justify your placement of each text.

Answers:

Plotting texts on the Register Continuum

Literacy for learning: Australian edition Module 1

everyday

concrete

technical

abstract

formal

impersonal

informed

informal

personal

novice

most written

generalised

language constitutes the text

most spoken

‘here-and-now’

language accompanying action

doctor–patient consultation

email to friend

principal’s letter

insurance claim covering letter

INFORMAL LANGUAGE:

JOOS’ DEGREES OF FORMALITY

Style Participants Context/setting Some characteristic features

FROZEN

(Involves language

forms that are fixed,

formulaic, and cannot

be altered or changed.

Typically prescribed

by law, ritual or

custom)

Used in official

situations or

instances

and/or

languages of

prestige and

power

Parliament,

court rooms,

ceremonies, the

Bible

• Frozen style is ambiguous

• Readers discover the meaning of the words

without knowledge of the author’s intention or

purpose

• Readers do not participate in a linguistic

encounter with the author, but an encounter

with the text

(Pages 9 - 10 of booklet)


FORMAL

(Used to maximise

social distance and

often used to assert a

position of power or

prestige. Used to

impart knowledge

without much social

interaction. Speaker

must make intentions

explicit)

Used by

experts,

scholars,

professionals,

politicians,

doctors in

presentations

(not in

conversation)

Monologues, formal

presentations,

debates, lectures,

legal proceedings,

conference

• Formal style is very explicit in

pronunciation

• Words used take on specialised meaning

• Sentence structure is elaborate and linked

• Coherent paragraphs and cohesively

developed ideas

• Content is pre-planned and no alterations

made because feedback is not immediate

• Formal style is determined by absence of

listener/audience participation.

CONSULTATIVE

(Establishes and

maintains a neutral

and task-oriented

distance from people.

Very little information

is assumed or implied)

Used in unequal

status:

teacher/student,

boss/employee,

doctor/patient

Classrooms, Q&A,

seminars,

department

meetings

• Pronunciation is explicit, word choice is

careful

• Sentence structure is complete.

• Since consultative style is used for

communication with strangers, speakers

are mindful of the listener’s verbal and

non-verbal responses

• It only transmits information and implies

nothing about a permanent relationship or

shared group membership.


CASUAL

(Used to establish a

familiarity and

remembrance of

shared experiences

and attitudes.

Information is

linguistically and

topically implicit)

No status

differential:

peers, family

members in

social or casual

encounters

and

conversations

Parties, at

home, most

social situations,

informal

gatherings

• Casual style is not for strangers, but for

communication among friends

• It makes frequent use of slang

• While transmitting information, it is also

expressive of a social relationship among

participants.

INTIMATE

(Used to establish

maximum intimacy

among people who

interact regularly.

Most information is

linguistically assumed

and topically implicit)

Used by

friends,

spouses/

partners,

family

Phone calls with

parents, siblings

• Intimate style manifests extreme structural

simplicity.

• The information transmission of language is

mostly absent in intimate style.

• The participants are indeed so intimate, share

so much information and so many assumptions

that there is no need for information

transmission.

Activity:

Joos’ five levels of formality

Frozen style

Formal Style

Consultative Style

Casual Style

Intimate Style

Madam Chair, Mr Chairman

Sir, Madam

Mrs Jones, Mr Jackson

Jonesie, Jacko

Darling, snookums

Using the definitions on page 10 of your booklet, try to match the examples with each

style.

Answers:

Frozen style

Formal Style

Consultative Style

Casual Style

Intimate Style

LANGUAGE VARIATION AND SOCIAL

PURPOSE

Language needs to be carefully selected in order to be APPROPRIATE in a variety of

ways.

Some of these are listed on page 11 and include:

WHO is using the language and WITH WHOM

WHEN (and WHERE) the language is being used

WHY the language is being used

Many of these elements relate to what we call the CONTEXT and SOCIAL PURPOSE of a

text.

(Page 11 – 12 of booklet)

CONTEXT

Text (Discourse)

Language

Cultural context

Situational context

The relationship between language and the context in which this language occurs

- function, field, mode, setting and audience.

SITUATIONAL CONTEXT

Field: What is the CONTENT/TOPIC

of the discourse?

Function: What is the PURPOSE of

the discourse/what FUNCTION/S

does it perform?

Setting: WHERE and WHEN is the

discourse taking place?

Relationship between participants:

HOW WELL do they know each

other? What is the SOCIAL

DISTANCE? Is there a POWER

difference?

Mode: What is the

MODE/TYPE/FORM of

communication?

Values, attitudes and beliefs

held by the participants and

the wider community.

The relationship between

language and power

structures.

The processes of inclusion and

exclusion.

CULTURAL CONTEXT

SOCIAL PURPOSES

Social purpose refers to the underlying goals of a particular

discourse within its situational and cultural contexts. While

there is often some overlap between the social purpose of a

text and its function, the term function applies to the

immediate obvious goals of a discourse (for example, to

entertain, to commemorate or to inform), whereas social

purpose includes the broader implications of a discourse.

For example, the terms and conditions section of a social

media company’s website would function to inform users of

their legal rights and obligations. However, this text would

serve the broader social purpose of legally protecting the

company, as well as building confidence in the brand by

reassuring customers that their needs will be met.

• Encourages intimacy, solidarity and equality

Nicknames, diminutives, slang

• Maintains and challenges positive and

negative face needs

Turn taking, in-group markers, politeness markers

• Promotes linguistic innovation

Teenspeak, emoticons, neologisms

• Supports in-group membership

Slang, jargon, diminutives, nicknames

…but there can be many, many more!

COMMON SOCIAL PURPOSES OF

INFORMAL LANGUAGE

Imagine you are requesting to know where the bathroom

of a venue is. How would your language differ asking:

• An elderly lady on the street

• Your best friend

• Your teacher

• Your principal

• Your neighbour

• Your sibling

Who would you be most informal with? Most formal? What

contextual factors contribute this?

Activity:

Language variation and social purposes

• The English, that with respect to spelling, grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary is substantially uniform though not devoid of regional differences, that is well established by usage in the formal and informal speech and writing of the educated, and that is widely recognized as acceptable wherever English is spoken and understood.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

• (Noun) A form of written English characterised by the spelling syntax and morphology which educated writers of all English dialects adopt with only minor variation.

Macquarie Dictionary

STANDARD ENGLISH(Page 13 of booklet)

What Standard English IS:

Considered ‘the norm’

Taught in schools and to EAL learners

Codified in dictionaries and grammar books etc.

The ‘prestige variety’ of English (OVERTLY prestigious)

Used in domains such as the law, government and education

What Standard English is NOT:

‘Correct’ English

The only way to use English

Appropriate in all situations

Connected to ACCENT

STANDARD ENGLISH(Page 13 of booklet)

NON-STANDARD ENGLISHWhat Non-Standard English IS:

Often closely connected to informality

Considered ‘incorrect’ in a PRESCRIPTIVIST viewpoint

Often considered COVERTLY prestigious within social groups

Non-Standard, not SUB-Standard

What Non-Standard English is NOT:

‘Incorrect’ or ‘deviant’ English

Appropriate in all situations

Connected to ACCENT

(Page 13 of booklet)

Be careful not to over-generalise: it is not the case that Standard Australian

English (SAE) is always used in formal contexts and non-Standard English is

always contexts.

There are Standard English features with reduced formality, used in informal

situations such as contractions (do + not = don’t – Standard contraction

form).

There are actually many non-Standard features that people generally aren’t

even aware are non-Standard! For example, “He gave the tickets to you and

I” is non-Standard; “He gave the tickets to you and me” is Standard.

IMPORTANT:

Are You a Prescriptivist?

Grammar PRESCRIPTIVISTS love rules. They want to marry rules and have

little rule babies.

These are the self-described ‘grammar Nazis’, or the ‘grammar police’, who

make it their life’s undertaking to ensure that every grammatical rule is

followed all the time.

These are the people who cringe when someone uses the word “literally”

incorrectly, and maybe sometimes wish that there was an English equivalent

to the Académie française, which is the official authority on the French

language.

To summarise, they believe that there should be clear rules regarding

language and usage- that need to be abided by. Suggestive that there is a

‘correct’ way to use language.

Do not enjoy rapid language change

ATTITUDES TOWARD THE STANDARD(Page 14 of booklet)

Grammar DESCRIPTIVISTS, on the other hand,

started playing fast and loose with the word “like”

way before Clueless was in theaters. These are the

ones who know the rules of grammar, and note

them, but don’t really get too upset when the

general population starts rewriting them, choosing

to go with the flow instead.

In case you’re wondering, in the history of the

English language, the descriptivists are winning.

Sure, you might be using “literally” completely

inaccurately, but most people know that you’re

using it as an exaggeration. Point for descriptivists.

This is not to say that prescriptivism is dead. It is

still alive and well in our schools, in politics and in

a lot of public publications.

ATTITUDES TOWARD THE STANDARD(Page 14 of booklet)

FACE, THREATS TO FACE AND POLITENESS

(Page 20 - 25 of booklet)

Activity:Turn to page 20 of your booklet and complete the

activity. Be prepared to justify your ranking!

MOST POLITE

LEAST POLITE

1. You’ll be a pal and get us a Coke won’t you Andy?

2. I’m really sorry to ask, but if you are going to the

machine, I’d be ever so grateful if you would possibly

be so kind as to get me a Coke while you’re there

please.

3. Could you possibly get me a Coke from the

machine please, Andy? I’ll go next week.

4. Get me a Coke, Andy!

5. If you’re going to the machine, could you possibly

get me a Coke while you’re there please?

7. If you’re going to the machine, would you possibly

be so kind enough to get me a Coke while you’re

there please?

6. Get me a Coke.

What is going wrong

in this

conversation?

Based on what you

know about FACE

(or even just how

conversations are

supposed to work!),

how could you

describe what is

happening here?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui442IDw16o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui442IDw16o

Building on the work of others, Penelope Brown and Stephen Levinson developed a theory of politeness.

Brown and Levinson argued that human beings have a universal need to:

Be valued, respected, appreciated in social groups, so that the self-image that an individual has constructed of her/himself is accepted and supported by others (This is POSITIVE Face)

Feel that his/her actions are unimpeded by others (This is NEGATIVE Face)

We will go over these in more detail now…

BROWN AND LEVINSON’S THEORY(Page 21 of booklet)

From p8 of Living Lingo:

“Communication in whatever form can only successfully take place if

participants mutually recognise that certain ground rules govern their

own actions and use of language, and also their interpretations of the

linguistic behaviour of others. For example, there is a presumption

that all players will act as reasonable and cooperative participants

during any kind of linguistic exchange...”

“Most of the time we try to get along with each other and our social

interaction operates with the notion of harmony in mind. You’re going

to be diplomatic, modest and nice – whatever it takes to be polite

(despite how you might be feeling deep down). A key player here is

something called face.”

POLITENESS AND THE CONCEPT

OF ‘FACE’(Page 21 of booklet)

You may be familiar with the figures of speech ‘to save face’ and ‘to

lose face’ – these are closely related to the concept of ‘one’s public

self-image’.

➢ If the outcome of an exchange means that people’s self-image is not

sustained, if face has been lost or affronted, then they will generally

feel bad, insecure, hurt, humiliated, and consequently become

embarrassed, flustered and even hostile.

➢ If the outcome is a (public) self-image that surpasses the norm, i.e. if

face has been enhanced by the encounter, people will feel good and

perhaps confident and self-assured.

➢ If the outcome is a self-image consistent with the usual, if face has

simply been maintained, then people are unlikely to feel any strong

emotions one way or another.

WHAT IS FACE?(Page 21 of booklet)

Every time we communicate, we have to consider whether what we say is

likely to maintain, enhance or damage our own face, as well as considering

the effect of our language on others.

Erving Goffman (sociologist) refers to this as ‘face-work’.

➢ Social interaction is generally oriented towards maintaining (= saving + face)

➢ One of the ground rules in communication is that there is a tacit agreement

between the different parties that everyone should operate with this in mind.

➢ We want to look after our own face (self-respect) AND we are expected to be

considerate of and look after the face-wants of others (which may include

turning a tactful blind eye or telling a white lie).

➢ Sometimes we have to adopt different face-saving strategies within an

exchange.

➢ We need to choose our language, expressions, tone, quality of speaking, looks

and gestures to provide the desired face effects.

➢ Different groups play by different rules, and conventions can differ between

individuals even within the same community.

➢ Non-native speakers of English are often unaware of these differences and may

on occasion cause offence.

POSITIVE FACE refers to a person’s need to be accepted or

liked by others, and to be treated as a member of a group

knowing that their wants are shared by others.

Attending to positive face makes us feel good; it means our

attributes, achievements, ideas, possessions, goals etc are well

regarded by others.

It might involve showing a flattering interest in an idea we’ve

had, or praising something we’ve produced.

It can also include accommodating dialect, accent or style of

speaking.

POSITIVE FACE(Page 21 of booklet)

NEGATIVE FACE refers to a person’s need to be independent and not be

imposed on by others.

Paying attention to someone’s negative face includes not imposing on

their time and not borrowing their possessions or requesting help;

It can also include impositions caused when someone is required to

expend unreasonable effort in order to understand the message.

When an utterance is either too loud or somehow inaudible, incoherent

or not even relevant, it violates the politeness conditions that govern

communication and therefore threatens negative face.

In spoken communication, negative face also includes non-verbal

aspects of the encounter (QUICK CHECK – WHAT ARE THESE CALLED?)

such as matters of eye contact (staring, or avoiding someone’s gaze),

physical distance (standing too close or too far away) or gestures

(touching, nudging, gripping, even hitting).

NEGATIVE FACE(Page 21 of booklet)

Remember that, in this case,

positive and negative are

NOT OPPOSITES!

Attending to positive face

doesn’t mean ‘saying good

things’, and negative face

mean ‘saying bad things’.

Make sure you have a clear

understanding of the

difference between these.

IMPORTANT!

When we

praise

compliment

take an interest in

respond positively to

acknowledge

remember a name

listen carefully to

love

help

support etc.

we affirm/attend to POSITIVE face.

When we respect others’

space

privacy

silence

freedoms

independence

we are mindful of/attending to NEGATIVE face.

ATTENDING TO OTHERS’ FACE NEEDS


Face threatening acts are utterances or tones that damage the

face of the addressee or the speaker by acting in opposition to

the wants and desires of the other.

Threats to positive face are acts which undermine a person’s

sense of being valued, respected and appreciated.

Threats to negative face are acts which intrude on a person’s

sense of freedom, independence and personal space

FACE THREATENING ACTS(Page 22 of booklet)

Activity:

An oldie but a goodie…

In what ways does

Kanye threaten

Taylor’s POSITIVE

face?

In what ways does

he threaten her

NEGATIVE face?

In what ways does

Kanye ATTEND to

Taylor’s positive

face?

In what ways does

he ATTEND to her

NEGATIVE face?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBQBqk06rvo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBQBqk06rvo

In linguistics, the term politeness has a broader meaning than

in the wider community, where it is synonymous with ‘manners’.

The work of Brown and Levinson identifies that every individual

has face needs and that in social interactions, participants use

different strategies to address these needs in others.

Face threatening acts happen moment by moment.

For example, if you ask another person for something, no

matter how small, you will probably say ‘please’. This is

because, asking another person anything can interfere with

their desire for freedom and independence or threaten

‘negative face’.

Brown and Levinson argue that we all take steps to manage face

threatening acts. This is ‘politeness’.

MANAGING FACE THREATENING ACTS: POLITENESS IN LINGUISTICS


Brown and Levinson describe five levels of politeness:

1. Saying the face threatening thing without redress – or any effort to

lessen the threat. For example, ‘Sit down!’

2. Using positive politeness. This is where you affirm the other speaker,

even as you make the face threatening act. For example, ‘The speech

was so inspiring! Would you mind if I had a copy?’

3. Using negative politeness: This is where you use ways of reducing the

threat to negative face. For example, ‘Could you please pass the rice?’

includes ‘please’ to reduce the threat of being asked and ‘Could you

please pass …’ is less demanding than ‘Please pass …’

4. Using an indirect statement that suggest a possible action but also has a

literal other meaning. For example, ‘That cake was delicious’ (when

the speaker’s actual intention is to be invited to have some more)

5. Avoiding the threat to face altogether.

USING THE RIGHT LEVEL OFPOLITENESS

Brown and Levinson argue that three factors determine the level of politeness

used.

The level of politeness = the speaker’s sense of:

the social distance between the speaker and the addressee (if you are very

close to the person, then there is less need for a higher level of politeness)

+

the relative power of the addressee (if the speaker is much more powerful

than the addressee, then there is less need for a higher level of politeness)

+

the speaker’s sense of the weight of the threat (the greater the threat, the

more likely an increase in politeness)

DECIDING WHICH LEVEL OFPOLITENESS


1. Your new apartment is beautiful!

2. Would you mind if I borrowed your

book?

3. Mmm, I think so, too.

4. Can you drop these into the dry

cleaner’s on your way?

5. Tell me more!

6. Can I help?

7. Is anyone using this chair?

8. That meal was delicious. Thank

you.

Activity:

Identify which statements relate to

POSITIVE face and which relate to

NEGATIVE face

Are these statements THREATS to

negative or positive face or both?

1. Would you mind opening the door?

2. Your speech went on way too long.

3. I didn’t do the homework.

4. That was a mistake.

5. What a great haircut!!

INFORMAL LANGUAGE AND

POSITIVE FACE NEEDS Uses of informal language (Pages 7 - 8 and 11 of booklet)

Politeness: Negative and positive face needs (Pages 20 - 25 of booklet)

Positive face needs:

Desire to be liked,

appreciated, valued,

approved of, included as a

member of a group,

respected

In a conversation: listened

to, valued, appreciated

Adhering to positive face

needs:

Politeness strategies – “Thanks

heaps for your input”

Turn-taking - indicating to the

speaker that you are listening

Body language - nodding

Compliments - hyperbole

In-group dialogue- “Hey,

brother”

Diminutives – “Jonno”

Threatening positive face

needs:

Criticism

Disapproval

Ridicule

Breaching principle of

appropriateness (our

expectations of how a

conversation should run)

INFORMAL LANGUAGE AND

NEGATIVE FACE NEEDS

Negative face needs:

Need to feel free from

imposition, freedom of

action, personal space,

freedom from imposition

Adhering to negative face

needs:

Minimising imposition - “You

know more about this than I

do”

Express desire not to impinge

Be inclusive - ‘We should give it

a go’

Politeness markers – ‘Ta’,

‘Thanks heaps bro’

Give listener space/time to

listen/make decisions

Indirectness/hedging – “You

couldn’t…could ya?”

Threatening negative face

needs:

Direct orders

Threats

Warnings

Lack of politeness markers

when giving instruction

Uses of informal language (Pages 7 - 8 and 11 of booklet)

Politeness: Negative and positive face needs (Pages 20 - 25 of booklet)

E-communication has drastically changed the usage and platforms of informal language.

Activity:Take out your phone and look at your last 4 text messages:

What features of informality can you see?

Is this appropriate in the context used?

Do the same with your Messenger posts or any other social media platform you utilise:

Do you notice any differences?

Overall, do you notice any differences in terms of any SITUATIONAL CONTEXT factors explored earlier today?

E-COMMUNICATION(Page 14 of booklet)

Features of informal e-communication:

• Slang

• Creative spellings

• Grammatical informality

• New expressions

• New conventions of spelling and

punctuation

• Emoji/gifs

and many more!

A text is any piece of written, spoken, non verbal, visual or auditory material that communicates a message. A unit of discourse that belongs to a specific context.

Domain: Setting or field to which the text relates

e.g. politics, sport, theatre, tourism, literature.

WHAT IS THE DOMAIN OF YOUR BOOKLET?

TEXT TYPES AND DOMAINS(Page 15 of booklet)

PHONOLOGY:

Elision:➢ The omission of a phoneme➢ Words such as handsome and mostly are frequently pronounced with the

omission of /d/ in handsome and /t/ in mostly➢ Common in casual speech styles, particularly word boundaries. ➢ E.g. ‘Me and you’ becomes [mi:ənju:] where the /æ/ has been reduced to

/ə/, the unstressed vowel sound called schwa. ➢ Other examples include 'I don't know' /I duno/ , /kamra/ for camera, and

'fish 'n' chips'. Try saying these terms aloud and see if you pronounce every phoneme.

Assimilation:

➢ The process in which two phonemes occurring together are influenced by each other, making the sounds more alike

➢ Frequently occurs in running speech at word boundaries, where utterances are unplanned and exchanges tend to be fast.

➢ E.g. ‘handbag’ is often pronounced /ˈhæmbæɡ/. The pronunciations /ˈhænˌbæɡ/ or /ˈhændˌbæɡ/ are however common in normal speech whereas the word "cupboard", for example, is always pronounced /ˈkʌbərd/, never /ˈkʌpˌbɔrd/, and even in slow, highly articulated speech

INFORMAL LANGUAGE: FEATURES(Page 32 of booklet)

PHONOLOGY (continued):

Vowel Reduction:

➢ This involves the substitution of a weaker vowel, usually schwa, /ə/, but sometimes /ɪ/ or /ʊ/, for a stronger one

➢ Frequently happens in connected speech where many monosyllabic words, such as ‘to’, ‘for’, ‘and’, are lightly stressed, with the consequence that their vowel segments are reduced to schwa.

➢ Vowel reduction similarly occurs in polysyllabic words in those syllables that are unstressed. In ‘occurred’ for example, the initial syllable /ɒ/ is usually reduced to /ə/ in running speech.

Addition of sounds:

➢ In connected speech, sounds are also sometimes added

➢ E.g. the word ‘film’ being pronounced as ‘filum’

➢ Sometimes the word ‘family’ is pronounced as ‘fambly’

➢ In another example, the word ‘idea’ is sometimes pronounced as idea(r).


MORPHOLOGY:

Diminutives:➢ Diminutives are shortened or modified forms of words➢ These are common in Australia such as ‘arvo’ for afternoon,

‘ambo’ for ambulance or ‘mozzie’ for mosquito➢ A lot of the time this is an adjustment to the suffix of the term➢ We tend to do this with names, such ‘Bazza’ for Barry or ‘Huggo’

for Huggins➢ This is often an expression of solidarity or a relaxed register

Reduplication:

➢ A structural repetition within a word, such as ‘baba’, ‘dada’

➢Words such as ‘nice-shmice’, ‘mumbo-jumbo’, ‘hanky-panky’, ‘hocus-pocus’, ‘school-shmool’ etc. that produce a rhyming pattern are also examples of reduplication

➢ This can be used in a lot of rhyming slang or casual language as well as song or literary pieces


LEXICOLOGY:

Ellipsis:

➢ Refers to the omission of an element of language usually present in the ‘complete’ form of the expression

➢ As long as readers can easily recognise exactly what has been deleted, part of a sentence can be omitted to avoid repetition

➢ E.g. in response to a question one might ask ‘How are you feeling?’ we can say ‘Fine’ (without having to say ‘I am feeling fine’)

➢ Common in speech but also written informal conversations such as Facebook chat or texting

Shortening:

➢ Reduction of form (or shortening) is another feature of informal language

➢ Abbreviated versions of longer words

➢ E.g. ‘sec’ for second, ‘ad’ for advertisement, ‘deb’ for debutante, champ for champion.


LEXICOLOGY (continued…):

Slang:

➢ Slang is peculiar to a particular social group

➢ Informal nonstandard vocabulary composed typically of coinages, arbitrarily changed words, and extravagant, forced or facetious figures of speech

➢ Slang is language of highly colloquial and contemporary type

➢ Often uses metaphor, and/or ellipsis and often manifests word play in which current language is employed in some special sense and denotation

➢ Different cultures and social groups develop their own forms of slang

➢ You need to be able to differentiate between more traditional forms of slang like ‘g’day mate’ and modern ‘tech speak’ slang such as ‘She’s so extra!’


LEXICOLOGY (continued…):

Swearing:

➢ Swearing refers to strongly emotional use of taboo expressions in insults, epithets (or labels) and expletives

➢ It appears regularly in the language of internet, creative writing, spontaneous public speech and private conversation

➢ Swearing serves 4 major functions:

• Expletives: To let off steam (E.g. You stub your toe) • Abuse and insult: Harm or bother someone intentionally (Think

about context here- how might this work in one context but not another?)

• Social solidarity: In-group marker (When do you use swear words towards your friends?)

• Stylistic choice: The marking of an attitude to what is being said (e.g. ‘F*!$ YES!’)


SYNTAX/GRAMMAR:

Metalanguage Characteristic featureNon-standard use

(Informal)Standard use (formal)

Forming

questions

Usually questions are formed by inverting the

order of the subject and verb in a declarative

sentence. For example: ‘It is raining’ (declarative

sentence) becomes ‘Is it raining?’). Informal

language is characterised by a lack of subject-verb

inversion.

1. What they are talking

about?

2. When you would like

to go?

3. What you doing? (lacks

auxiliary verb)

1. What are they talking

about?

2. When would you like

to go?

3. What are you doing?

Use of pronoun

Subject pronoun is used when it is clear who the

actor of the sentence is. For example, the first

person singular pronoun ‘I’. Object Pronoun is used

when a pronoun replaces the noun that receives

the action of the verb (object). For example, the

first person singular pronoun ‘me’. Possessive

pronouns are used to show ownership. For

example, the first person singular pronoun ‘my’.

1. My brother and me

were late.

2. That's where me heart

beats from.

1. My brother and I were

late.

2. That's where my heart

beats from.


Metalanguage Characteristic feature Non-standard use (Informal) Standard use (formal)

Negation

Negation is marked by individual words, such as not,

no, never or by affixes within a word, such as –n’t,

un-, non-. Multiple negatives are used in many

varieties of English to create emphasis. The most

common form is the double negative.

1. I haven’t done nothing.

2. You didn’t bring no

presents.

1. I haven’t done

anything.

2. You didn’t bring any

presents.

Use of

comparatives

and

superlatives

Adjectives inflect for grade and there are plain,

comparative (when comparing two things – they are

formed by adding the suffix –er to the adjective or

add more) and superlatives (when comparing three

or more things - they are formed by adding the

suffix –est to the adjective or add most). Double

comparatives and superlatives are used to add

emphasis.

1. He is more smarter….

2. His classes are much

more easier to follow.

1. He is smarter….

2. His classes are easier

to follow.

Question tags

Question tags are a common device used for seeking

confirmation. It generally consists of just an

auxiliary verb + personal pronoun subject and it is

the reverse of that of the clause to which it is

attached. However, invariant tags are used informal

language.

1. He can play golf, or not?

(or)

He can play golf, yes or

not?

2. You didn’t see him, is it?

3. He left, isn’t?

1. He can play golf, can’t

he?

2. You didn’t see him,

did you?

3. He left, hasn’t he?

Depending on how we’re going for time, either complete the activity on page 31 in your booklet now or at home after this session.

To complete this activity, you need to read Sample Texts A-C on pages 26-30 and fill in the table with the informal features you can identify at this point in time.

Activity:

Analysing sample informal texts

You may have noticed that many of the ‘features of’ informal language are prevalent in Australian English. There is an inclination towards informality in Australian English. This (as you will look at more in Unit 4) mostly comes from our roots-the notion of our convict background, penal history and goals towards a ‘classless’ society.

However, take note - your generation’s slang is different. Where do you think most teenagers get their slang? What do the following words mean to you? Where do you think these came from?

‘so extra’ ‘shook’ ‘woke’ ‘Basic’

INFORMAL LANGUAGE:AUSTRALIAN CONTEXT

(Page 36 - 37 of booklet)

Spoken language is a variety in its own right, with distinctive lexical,

grammatical, stylistic and structural characteristics

SPEAKERS

• Are dictated by the cultural expectations and shared values of the society.

• Begin to learn the necessary skills from a very early age.

• Assimilate ritualistic patterns.

• Constantly evaluate and identify what is acceptable and what is not.

• Making lexical choices appropriate to the context.

• Use paralinguistics to reinforce and underpin the words spoken.

• Interpret the meaning of utterances.

INFORMAL LANGUAGE:SPOKEN LANGUAGE


INTERACTIONAL: Exchange of ideas, dynamic and active

REFERENTIAL: Informative as in a lecture

PHATIC: Social, informal communication, “chit-chat”

TRANSACTIONAL: To get something done

EXPRESSIVE: Reveal a speaker’s state of mind or attitude

at a certain time

FUNCTIONS OF SPOKEN LANGUAGE(Page 39 of booklet)

E.g. Teaching, lecturing

My primary functions as your lecturer are INTERACTIONAL and INFORMATIVE. I am attempting to inform you about ENGLISH LANGUAGE and in particular, informal language features.

YOUR TURN: Facebook chat, greetings to your family in the morning

Your greetings with the checkout person, if you request something from a fast food window, when a person in a customer service role asks you to verify your identity

Yelling at your parents, stubbing your foot and swearing, laughing at the TV

Activity:

Identify the function of each of the following

PHATIC: This one is about relationships- it has a

social function of forming and or fostering

relationships

TRANSACTIONAL: To get something done.

You are attempting to get a task done through

your utterance.

EXPRESSIVE: reveals a state of mind.

Informational. but more of a personal manner.

TURN TAKING:

A unit of speech by one speaker in a conversation is a ‘turn’

Turn-taking is the practice of alternating turns from one person to

another

Participants signal and end to their term with a falling pitch, a rising

pitch. Overlapping may sometimes but used to take the floor but is not

always acceptable. Sometimes a long pause can be a good indicator.

HOLDING THE FLOOR:

Being the participant having the attention (you are talking) and

maintaining your turn

This can be done by rapid speaking and loud volume, the use of discourse

particles or fillers

SPOKEN LANGUAGE: KEY METALANGUAGE


TOPIC:

What is being discussed at a particular time is dependent on a number of factors

In English Language you will also explore topic management, which deals with who

and how topics are maintained, changed or returned to within a discourse.

ADJACENCY PAIRS:

Friends, even strangers will greet each other for the first time in a day by day setting

‘Hey man, how’s it going?’

To which the other person replies,

‘Good man, what about you?’

These are adjacency pairs, where one question triggers another habitual response.

Can you think of another example of habitual sayings?

MORE SPOKEN LANGUAGE METALANGUAGE


OPENINGS AND CLOSINGS:

Habitual ways we ENTER and LEAVE a conversation

“Hi, how are you today?”

“Okay, well I better run.”

“Nice to see you.”

AGAIN this is learned behaviour that becomes habitual

MORE SPOKEN LANGUAGE METALANGUAGE


METALANGUAGE: PROSODIC FEATURES

(Page 41 of booklet – not 100% accurate, so adjust notes accordingly)

Also sometimes known as ‘suprasegmental features’, prosodic

features are phonological properties that relate to the

pronunciation of syllables, words and phrases, not simply

phonemes.

There are five of them and these are:

➢ Stress

➢ Pitch

➢ Intonation

➢ Tempo

➢ Volume

If you are not yet familiar with

reading Transcription Symbols,

check out page 26 – 27 for a

quick introduction…

Stress:

Refers to the degree of strength used to produce a syllable

Syllables can be stressed or unstressed

In English, we tend to stress syllables at fairly regular intervals, which is what

gives speech its rhythm

Stress typically falls on the vowel in a syllable

In some cases, though, English uses variation in stress patterns to distinguish

nouns from verbs, as shown here: NOUN VERB

Research Research

Survery Survey

Insult Insult

We also place stress on different syllables in words that share a

common root: e.g. telegraph, telegraphic, telegraphy

Word stress is also used to draw attention to or contrast particular

elements in a sentence, e.g.

I never said that.

I never said that.

I never said that.

I never said that.

Stress will usually form an

important part of any

transcript of spoken text,

so check carefully and note

the symbols being used

Pitch:

The ‘height’ of a sound in auditory terms, from low to high

Pitch is often modulated depending on the meaning we wish to express or the

emotion we wish to convey

Our pitch tends to rise when we become excited, whereas we might speak

with a lower pitch if we wish to sound serious or authoritative

Women’s voices are typically higher pitched than men’s, but not always

Intonation:

Pattern of pitch changes in speech; patterns made by rising and falling pitch

When analysing speech, we talk about intonation phrases or intonation contours and each of these intonation phrases has a particular pitch pattern

Can signal grammatical structure (like punctuation in writing), such as signaling boundaries of clauses and sentences. You can ‘hear’ the commas and full stops when you read a sentence aloud; this is your intonation at work

Can also communicate a speaker’s attitude or emotion, such as uncertainty, agreement or anger e.g. think about how you could say ‘aha’ to indicate polite listening, puzzlement or excitement

Also distinguishes statements from questions. Statements usually have falling intonation, whereas questions tend to have rising intonation at the end

In spoken transcripts intonation can be indicated by a variety of symbols, but often: slashes for rising (/) and falling (\) intonation, and full stops for final intonation. Continuing intonation units are usually marked with a comma, and often indicate natural breaks in speech

High rising terminal:

High rising terminal or HRT is very common and distinctive in Australia

and New Zealand

Generally found amongst young people, although has also pervaded

speech of many adults

Also sometimes referred to as ‘uptalk’, ‘questioning intonation’ or

‘high rising intonation’

Involves a rising intonation at the end of a statement, so that the

statement almost sounds like a question

Linguists used to believe this was a marker of insecurity, and in some

cases this may be the case

Also now seen to be a floor-holding strategy, or to check that the

listener is following and understanding

Can invite feedback from the listener

Means of establishing solidarity, empathy and rapport

Quick example:

Adam Hills on HRT…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpBYnL5fAXE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpBYnL5fAXE

Tempo:

Also known as ‘pace’

The speed at which we speak

Can reflect the emotional state of the speaker, e.g. fast speech can

indicate excitement or nervousness; slow speech can indicate

deliberation or reflection on the part of the speaker

Tempo can also reflect grammatical features, such as a parenthetical

aside

E.g. ‘His behaviour – not that I should be telling you this – was

atrocious!’ (The bold writing indicates a fast tempo)

Pauses in speech can contribute to its tempo, e.g. long pauses can be

used deliberately to slow speech down, for dramatic effect or to elicit

some sort of emotional response from the listener. Note: Pauses are

not a prosodic feature on their own! They contribute to the PACE of

a text.

Context will help you determine the effects of tempo when you analyse

transcripts

Volume:

How loudly or softly a person is speaking

Often relates to emotions, e.g. speaking loudly when

angry or adamant about having your way; speaking softly

to soothe someone

Context will help determine why a particular volume is

being used

These are things other than the words we say that can influence the nature of speech and the way it is perceived by others.

Includes things like:

Breathy or creaky voice (might be used to induce awe or fear)

Coughing (might indicate nervousness, anxiety or lying)

Laughing (might indicate enjoyment or solidarity)

Intake of breath or exhalation (might indicate surprise or relief)

As always, the context is vital in determining the possible causes/functions of these vocal effects.

METALANGUAGE: VOCAL EFFECTS

These refer to non-verbal aspects of spoken communication, such as:

➢ Facial expressions

➢ Body gestures

➢ Body language

➢ Eye gaze

When we speak face-to-face with someone, we convey much of our meaning with our

body language and facial expression, and this is enhanced by the use of prosody and

vocal effects.

Not all cultures interpret these paralinguistic features in the same way, but many are

universal.

Because in written language we don’t have these important features at our disposal,

we tend to use other strategies to convey these nuances, such as punctuation, font

choice, emoticons, emoji, acronyms, numerical codes etc.

METALANGUAGE: PARALINGUISTIC FEATURES

There is a variety of other metalanguage covered in your booklets such as:

➢ Informal lexis

➢ Informal grammatical features

➢ Non-fluency features

➢ Discourse particles/discourse markers

➢ Hedging expressions

Throughout the year you will cover these in class, however we can come back to

them today if there’s time…

METALANGUAGE: OTHER FEATURES OF INFORMAL SPOKEN TEXTS


You will be required to collect and draw from a variety of examples of language use and discussion of language throughout the year

For some (likely most) of you, you will complete tasks for a folio or SAC mandated by your teachers

Even if this is not the case, you WILL need a range of examples to include in your essay on the end of year exam

DON’T LEAVE THIS UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE!

Building your bank of examples over the whole year means that you have time to not only FIND them, but to practise USING them in essays on a variety of topics. This is one of the BEST ways to do well in this subject, by having unique and original pieces of language to draw from and form opinions about.

Examples from the textbooks that most English Language students use are going to be boring and repetitive for assessors, so make yourself stand out from the crowd…

Examples can come from all sorts of places: books, TV, movies, magazines, newspapers, advertisements, novels, poems, leaflets, letters, online publications – the list is endless!

COLLECTING YOUR OWN EXAMPLES:HOW AND WHY

Examples of informal language in

2018 Australian context

Possible examples for essays:

“In 2018, it is not acceptable for a minister to

have a sexual relationship is with somebody

who works for them,” was how he actually

announced that. “It is a very bad workplace

practice”. Social media, meanwhile, has

immediately christened the new rule the Bonk

Ban, because of course it has.

(These examples are also

transferable for UNIT 4 AOS 1 –

Language Variation in Australian

Society)

Examples of informal language in

2018 Australian context

Examples of informal in 2018

Australian contextPossible examples for essays:

Gucci: Good, cool (broadened from the fashion label)

Shook: “We are shook that this happened” (conversion of

verb→ adjective)

Thirsty: Eager for something (broadened the meaning)

Yeet: Several meanings, including a violent motion and an

expression of excitement

Woke: Enlightened on social issues “He is so woke” (conversion

of verb → adjective)

Fam: Shortening - broadening

Stan: Idolising, looking up to someone (broadened from the

Eminem song)

Cancelled: Dismissing or rejecting someone/thing (broadened)

When discussing these, make sure you use appropriate

metalanguage.

There are many online resources that can be useful to help you

collect examples and quotes for your essays or revise

metalanguage.

These include:

o Google News

o The Conversation

o Online newspapers

o Satirical/informal websites (Punkee, Junkee, Pedestrian TV etc)

o Flipboard – search ‘Dr Amanda Samson’

o Language-related Facebook and Twitter accounts

o Online tools like ‘Quizlet’ for revision (there’s also a handy phone

app)

HELPFUL RESOURCES

I hope you found today helpful!

Please feel free to stick around and ask

me any other questions you may have.

Enjoy your study of VCE English

Language!

GOOD LUCK!

year 12 summer school unit 3 head start lecture 2019 · year 12 summer school unit 3 head start...

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