12 ELA Essay Topic
Stimulus
a. Overheard in a shopping centre:
“What are youse up to tomorrow?”
b. “Descriptivists …. believe that norms of correctness are arbitrary shibboleths of the ruling class, designed to keep the masses in their place. Language is an organic product of human creativity, and the people should be given the freedom to write however they please.” Steven Pinker
c. Spoken language is by nature casual, so its ascendancy has brought informality. Even presidents shrink from orotund oratory — and from formal names. It’s hard to imagine the grandparents of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton referring to Woody Wilson or Herb Hoover. Ask not what your country can do for you? No. Today’s usage would be, Don’t ask… The daily dominance of spoken English is evident even when it’s written, in the conversational informality of e-mail.
So Here’s What’s Happening to Language By JACK ROSENTHAL November 14, 2001
Deborah Cameron
Informal language is the glue that binds society, creating rapport and friendliness.
Discuss
:
Informal language has a variety of functions in Australian society. What do you see as some of the crucial roles of informal language in contemporary Australia?
the prompts given were :
a) ‘Slang works like masonic mortar to stick members of a group together- and ofcoure at the same time to erect barriers between them and the outside.’ (Kate Burridge)
b) ‘Through its culturally ingrained connotations of egalitarianism and mutual respect, even with complete strangers, the word ‘mate’ suggests an openness, at least, to a relationship of equals.’ (Richard Castles)
c) “‘Bloddy” has now become an important indicator of Australiness and of cultural values such as friendliness, informality, laid-backness, mateship – and perhaps even the Australian dislike and distrust of verbal and intellectual graces.’ (Kate Burridge)
Informal language has a variety of functions in Australian society. What do you see as some of the crucial roles of informal language in contemporary Australia?
“Informal language has a variety of functions in Australian society. What are some of the crucial roles of informal language in contemporary Australia?”
Informal language plays a variety of crucial communication roles in contemporary Australian society. Through the utilisation of informal morphology and lexicology, solidarity and close social proximity between group members are established. Minimal social distance and a friendly, laidback atmosphere between strangers or acquaintances is also achieved by the employment of informal lexical and syntactic features. Finally, informal language can function to express and elicit emotions such as anger and humour in its audience and speaker; playing an emotive role which formal language is incapable of.
Informal lexemes and morphemes promote in-group membership between people of the same social circle, occupation, generation or lifestyle, whilst simultaneously excluding others. Nicknames or less official group labels are commonly used for the purpose of distinguishing members of groups from outsiders. For example, the players or supporters of an Australian Football League (AFL) team usually utilise hypocoristic surnames rather than first names, such as ‘Fitzy’ for the surname ‘Fitzgerald’ or ‘Richo’ for ‘Richardson’, to exemplify their closeness and team bonding. Moreover, the team may opt to utilise a slang label such as ‘The Blues’ rather than ‘Carlton Football Club’ or ‘The Bombers’ for ‘Essendon Football Club’ to firstly, exclude non-AFL fans and secondly, differentiate in-group members from those of other football teams. These colloquial terms increase passion and between the members of that particular AFL club. Another example of a group who uses language to consolidate friendship and separate themselves from the other generations are teenagers. Teen-speak commonly features neologisms such as the acronym ‘FOMO’, standing for ‘Fear of Missing Out’. Initialisms like ‘FOMO’ are particularly popular in Teen-speak because they are used as secret in-group remarks, as only the interlocutors or people of the same group understand what they stand for. These examples, whether between people of the same age group or interest group, all provides evidence to linguist Kate Burridge’s statement that “Slang works much like masonic mortar to stick member of a group together – and of course at the same time erect barriers between them and the outside.” The use of slang and informal terms has the important role of solidarity reinforcement and the exclusion of outsiders within different groups of people in modern day Australia.
The friendly and laidback nature which Australians pride themselves in is displayed through the informal register of the language used. Informal terms of endearment, such as ‘darl’, a shortened form of the intimate address term ‘darling’, and ‘mate’, are used between strangers to create personable and approachable atmosphere, as well as to practise positive politeness. This is due to the lexemes’ ‘culturally ingrained connotations of egalitarianism and mutual respect,’ – promoting equal standings between the speaker and interlocutors. Similar in function to the intimate terms of address stated above, insults are also used to establish a friendlier relationship between the two participants, on the contrary to their typical offensive function. Australians often use lexemes such as ‘bugger’, ‘bastard’ and even ‘c*nt’ with positive connotations or as compliments, in contrast to British or American people who use them in a solely offensive fashion. These terms of endearment highlight the laidback and carefree attitudes of contemporary Australia in the same way as informal openings do. Greetings such as ‘Wassup’ and the classically Australian ‘G’day’ are both used to greet both friends and strangers, and so are designed to minimise social distance and decrease initial ‘awkward-ness’ in a relationship. Moreover, because of its extreme cultural connotations, the elided, Australian phrase, ‘G’day’, highlights national belonging and pride amongst the two parties; something which the standard ‘Good day’ would not have achieved. In fact, most of the informal greetings, openings and address terms used in the everyday Australian language are utilised to achieve a feeling of friendliness and openness between the users, both strangers and friends.
As well as for establishing solidarity and rapport between participants, informality, specifically swearing, also has an emotive function which is unable to be mimicked by formal language. Expletives and the intensifying function of swear words provides a means of self-expression which cannot be achieved through formal language. It is clear when comparing the expletive ‘F*ck!’ with exclamative ‘That really hurt!’ that the former discourse particle is much more powerful and capable of expressing the pain felt by the speaker. The exclamative, however, is able to be intensified to achieve a stronger effect by adding the adverb form of the lexeme ‘f*ck’, as in ‘that f*cking hurt!’ As well as having a function of expressing emotions, swearing is also able to elicit emotions. Humour is often achieved through the use of swear words. In the recent years, Australian Valentine’s Day cards have begun to include profanities in the messages for comedic effect and to fulfil the laidback Australian image, for example ‘I Lucking Fove You’ and ‘You Handsome Motherf*cker’. Both the spoonerism and the use of the typically offensive insult ‘motherf*cker’ as a compliment are unconventional takes on the event, provoking humour in both the giver and receiver, whilst further encapsulating the ‘carefree’ and ‘fun’ Australian nature. In addition, swear words can be employed to simultaneously achieve anger and humour; a feat which would be impossible in formal language. Morphological blends such as ‘fugly’, standing for ‘f*cking ugly’ and abbreviations such as ‘GTFO’, standing for ‘get the f*ck out’ are both neologisms utilised in partially annoyed and partially joking contexts, revealing the full capacity informal language possesses. In opposition to formal language, informality and profanities play an important roles in emotional communication between people.
Without informal language, contemporary Australia would not be in the same place it is today. Group members would not be able to consolidate their close relationships with nicknames, slang and group labels, whilst strangers would never be able to even establish a close relationship or a friendly, carefree atmosphere without the utilisation of informal terms of address and greetings. Finally, evoking and expressing emotion, which also contributes to closer ties and a more laidback feeling, would not be done without the assistance of informal profanities. It is fair to conclude that informality in the Australian language plays several crucial roles and has truly helped to mould the present day society.
Informal language plays a number of crucial roles in contemporary Australia.
The manipulation of lexemes in informal language helps one to express their identity. Slang, a common feature of informality along with changes to phonetics enable efficient communication. Furthermore, informal language enhances solidarity and lessens social distance through its morphology and lexicology.
Informal language brings with it the freedom to express one self and their identity. As informal language loses the rigidity that formal language holds, the speakers are able to change and manipulate their language as they wish. This can result in expressions that are richer and unique to the speakers such as “abso-bloody-lutely” through which the speaker is able to convey their excitement and agreement to a greater degree. The manipulation of language can also further provide information about the culture of the speaker. The frequent use of “bloody” can also be indication of them having pride and confidence in being Australian as Kate Burridge states, ““Bloody” has now become an important indicator of Australianness and of cultural values. ” While it may be considered as an expletive in various parts of the world, it has always been a very common part of Australian speech, displaying the relaxed and laid-backness of Australians. Informal lexis results in freedom to express one’s identity.
Efficient communication in social settings is another role of informal language.
Changes in phonetics to derive informal language are often due to the ease of articulation as well as improving the fluency. “avagoodweegend” has gone through a number of phonological processes including the elision of the initial “h” as well as phonological substitution of “g” in place of “k”. As it is a familiar farewell and vey likely a saying of habit for many Australians, the phonological changes can take place without the semantic value being lost. Slang, another characteristic of familiarity further enhances the efficiency of communication. There are often many connotations attached to informal lexemes such that of slang that conventional language may not convey due to the denotative meaning attached. “Barbie” a common slang term used for barbeques conveys not only the denotative meaning of cooking food outdoors over a special appliance but implies with it that it is an informal gathering of friends and family, possibly with beer. Informal language leads to a more efficient communication.
Informal language further functions to enhance solidarity and lessen social distance among people. “Mate” a common form of an informal address term in Australia suggests openness and willingness to accept others. “No worries, mate” and “Thanks, mate” are common exchanges among friends as well as strangers. It works to lessen social distance among interlocutors as it signifies equality. The use of informal address term “mate” as opposed to formal [sir/madam] helps to create a relaxed atmosphere and encourages for social rapport to be build. Solidarity is further enhanced through the use of diminutives. Nicknames are often created in Australian English by the addition of suffixes such as “-ie”, “y” or “o”. They convey a positive, warm and affectionate attitude as well as signaling a membership with in the group of being ‘Australian.’ Sporting players are often just addressed by their nickname such as “Richo” instead of “Matthew Richardon” or “Mr. Richardson” demonstrating their group membership of being Australian. Solidarity is enhanced and social distance lessened through the use of informal address terms.
It is evident that informal language has a variety of functions in Australian society including enabling one to portray their identity as well as a means of efficient communication. It also functions to enhance solidarity and lessen social distance.
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