Week 3

Lesson 1

Swearing in Australian English

Kaylee McKeown Nabbed Gold.docx

'Someone else's turd': Barnaby Joyce weighs in on Israel, Gaza conflict on Q+AHe may have once again spruiked the benefits of coal as an energy source but Barnaby Joyce also drew controversy on the Gaza conflict as he described the issue as "someone else's turd".

Abbott's climate change policy is bullshitWhile a shadow minister, Tony Abbott, was never afraid of speaking bluntly in a manner that was at odds with Coalition policy.

Class brainstorm to be recorded in your workbook.

Swearing in Australian English seems to reflect...

-a laid-back and carefree attitude

-casual and intimate culture as swearing is used to meet positive face

-irreverence and anti-authoritarian attitudes

-show a disregard for pretence or protocol

-accepting

-reflect a working-class, rough and tough character

-express honest and directness

-highlight and create humour

Strewth, bloody, rooted: is there a quintessentially Australian swear word?In this book extract, Amanda Laugesen says it’s hard to argue that Australians swear more than others, but we do our best, and we try to be inventive in the process

According to the article, how did swearing help shape "ideas about what it meant to be Australian"?
Do you think "the four Bs" identified by Baker in 1945 are still draw strong associations of Australianess?
What views of Australian English is Laugesen challenging or supporting when she states:

"To agree to the idea that Australians have a special relationship with bad language would be to extend a national mythology – which many Australians like to live up to – that we are more relaxed in our speech than other speakers of English. We are certainly renowned for our creativity with words and idioms, and this extends into the realm of the offensive."?

Why is swearing still illegal when most of us do it?Swearing can be quite acceptable (and cathartic) when it's used to drive home a particular point or deal with pain. But what does the law say about letting fly with a few well-chosen expletives?

Do you agree that "over the years, the use of profane language has become widespread....Words that used to be uttered sparingly are now deployed in media conversations as a matter of course"?
According to eh article, when is swearing accepted and when is it viewed as inappropriate or offensive?
What does Sarre suggest about who is 'allowed' to swear and what does this mean for how swearing is viewed in terms of Australian identity, culture and values?

Based on what factor does Cook theorise that "half of Australia rarely swears"?
What does she suggest about the place of swearing in Australian English and our attitude towards it?
What is her definition of swearing?

We shouldn't be so shit-scared of swearingIs "shit" a swear word? What about "pretty"? Monash PhD student Catherine Cook looks at the complexities of swearing in Australian English.

Lesson 2

Ethnolects

1. What made Adam love his pizza buying experience?

Ethnolect: a language variety that identifies speakers by their ethnicity.

Transference (not in Study Design): the carrying over of a pattern from one language to another (E.g. accent, intonation, etc).

Interference (not in Study Design): 'incorrect' or non-standard transference from another language.

General features of ethnolects:

accent interference or transference
syntactic 'errors' (interference)
high or frequent use of Australian colloquialism or idioms
code switching
paralinguistic features from another language (gestures, expressions, etc)
NOT a sign of inferiority or lack of intelligence.

Statistics on languages other than English spoken in Australia: https://www.ethnolink.com.au/blog/top-10-languages-spoken-in-australia/

Examples of Australian Ethnolects

Select at least THREE of the samples below and for each, note the following:

-Syntactic or lexical 'errors'

-use of Australian idioms or colloquialisms

-code switching

-accent transference/interference

-other typically Australian features (swearing, slang, self-deprecation, etc)

-attitudes others have towards this speaker

Nona Paola

Ronnie Chieng

Manu Feildel

Lee Lin Chin

Sooshi Mango

Les Murray

Gogglebox and what it tells us about English in AustraliaCult TV show Gogglebox is more than light entertainment: it shows the diverse reality of Australian English, going beyond stereotypes about what Australians sound like.

What 'place' is this article affording ethnolects within Australian English?
Find a quote that shows the author's attitudes towards different ethnolects.
What does this article suggest is the cause of these ethnolects? (Hint: why don't the children sound like their parents)
What does it say about the trend towards the 'general' accent?
Explain the following quote:

there’s more to Australian English than “ocker” and “ethnic”. Like all of us, the Goggleboxers speak in ways that reflect who they are, where they’ve come from and where they’re going.

Examples of Australian ethnolects from SBS show Food Safari:

Lesson 3

Overt vs Covert Norms

Norms are social expectations and community attitudes about language use that individuals exploit in order to gain power or prestige.

Overt norms- refer to practices that are widely accepted as prestigious within society. Adhering to norms of codified in Standard English, creates an identity for the user as well-educated, belonging to the upper classes, having a high socioeconomic status, or being employed in a reputable or professional occupation.

Covert norms- refer to practices that are not given prestige by the wider community, but by certain narrow social groups because they include or exclude individuals from specific identity groups. Covert norms are typically associated with non-Standard varieties and are rarely codified.

Why did Simon develop this ethnolect and what features did it seem to rely on?
Why did Simon 'abandon' the ethnic accent when he was 18?
In what situations did he use this ethnolect? What does this suggest about his view and relationship with this language variety?
Use Taylor's experience to explain overt and covert prestige.

Read the article to the side.
Create a list of words or features that migrant languages are bringing into Australian English.

How multiculturalism is changing the way we speakFor years migrants have struggled to master Australian slang. But as the country becomes more diverse, linguists say the way we speak English is changing.

Why does Kyriakos Gold feel that it is important to educate people about ethnolects in Australia?

The Greeklish project and speaking hybrid languagesThey are what some would describe as unique languages, hybrid languages such as Greeklish or Chinglish, and Australia has its own homegrown forms that some are seeking to celebrate.

What does this article suggest is the reason migrants from non-English speaking backgrounds so readily adopting Australian terms?
Why might English speaking migrants be less inclined?
What might this men for ethnolects of Australian English?

Thongs — the Aussie word immigrants hate sayingEsky or cooler? Torch or flashlight? Lollies or candy? If you’re an immigrant, which of these words you choose to use can be a sign of how well you have “linguistically assimilated” to Australia.

Article on 'Australitaliano' - and how Italian and English have merged in some Italian communities in Aus.

It's our own strain of strine, habibLebanese Australians have a dialect which gives them an identity separate from Anglo-Australians and their own cultures, writes Harriet Veitch.

Here is a playlist of various Australian Ethnolects. Some are real, some are exaggerated for comedic purposes.

Practice SAC

Question 1 (2 marks)

What is one function and one social purpose of this text?

Question 2 (2 marks)

Using an example, identify the register of this text.

Question 3 (3 marks)

Discuss, using specific examples, how turn-taking is managed throughout this interview.

Question 4 (4 marks)

Identify and comment on the use of two different prosodic features in the text. Refer to line numbers in your response.

Question 5 (6 marks)

Using appropriate metalanguage, discuss how Shane Tenhagius’ and Hannah Dawkins' language reflects a characteristically Australian variety of English. Be sure to include at least two different sub-systems.

7 commentary - Nine news Darwin 2018.pdf

Leigh Sales text.pdf

Question 1 (1 mark)

Identify one social purpose of this text.

Question 2 (2 marks)

Using an example, identify the register of this text.

Question 3 (4 marks)

Describe two features that aid the coherence and cohesion of this text.

Question 4 (6 marks)

Identify and explain the ways in which the language used in the text reveals or establishes stereotypical Australian values or identities.

Question 5 (6 marks)

Using appropriate metalanguage, discuss how Leigh Sales' and her father's language reflects a characteristically Australian variety of English. Be sure to include at least two different sub-systems.

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