Australian English defines who we are as a nation and a culture. Discuss.
Australian English is possibly one of the most, if not the most distinctive variations of English. However we are a young nation and it is not simply whether Australian English is distinctive, but whether the vernacular reflects our culture as a whole
Australian English does not just include the vernacular; there are many different aspects of Australian English. Through use of slang we express our cultural identity and values, while the rather homogenous nature of Australian English signifies that we are as Bruce Woodley so elegantly put it, ‘one and many’. Nonetheless what that ‘one’ group identity is differs depending on ethnic background, and a very different cultural identity can be shown through the language of those in separate ethnic communities.
Agreeing with teletubbies here; contention?The prevalence of slang in Australian English allows us to easily convey cultural attitudes and values in our daily language. Although slang is an integral part of any language
why?, Australian slang can be used regardless of both social distance and status
be careful; if a lawyer used slang in a court, how would this be received?. Where other varieties of English leave slang for only the most informal of registers, Australian slang is even usable in politics. Take for instance John Howard’s use of ‘Howard’s battlers’ as a complimentary term for supporters of his 1996 campaign who were of the working class. From the term ‘battler’ we can see the classically Australian admiration of hard workers, especially those in adverse situations. Conversely through the idiom ‘cutting down tall poppies’, which means essentially putting down those who excel past their peers, it can be said that our language expresses strongly egalitarian ideals
this doesn't quite relate to your earlier comment about slang being used in politics. In contrast
how is this a contrast? with this we have developed a plethora of phrases pertaining to relaxation including ‘the land of the long weekend’, ‘don’t bust a gut’ and ‘she’ll be right’. Complaints are also generally frowned upon and thus the derogatory term ‘Whinger’ was created. Furthermore this term had another use in the amalgamation of ‘whingeing pom’ which firmly encapsulates the attitudes towards the British in the modern day. Moreover our cultural obsession with alcohol is demonstrated vividly by our use of colloquial terms including ‘shout’ ‘grog’ and ‘stubbie’
these examples and your reasoning seem...quite weak to be honest. There are many colloquial terms for sexually promiscuous women; does society have a cultural obsession with them? You need to explain in more depth. The slang explored here can be likened to a single raindrop in an ocean of terms,
semicolon! nevertheless it can be seen quite clearly how slang defines our cultural values.
does slang "define" our cultural values, or do our cultural values define our slang? Something to considerAs a nation our language is almost uniform signifying how a majority of the population shares a similar, but not necessarily the same, national identity. When juxtaposed with our colonial counterparts in America
huh?, we have very little variation in how we speak. If we look the phonetics of our speech it can be seen that there are common nation-wide trends, namely the shift of the /æ/ phoneme in ‘make’ to the /aɪ/ phoneme in ‘Mike’. There are however some considerable lexical differences, take for instance the expression ‘Toorak tractor’ which refers mockingly to a four-wheel drive vehicle which is driven around the city by the rich. ‘Toorak’ in this expression is replaced by other wealthy suburbs such as ‘Mosman’ in Sydney and ‘Dalkeith’ in Perth in order to keep it relevant. Some terms are not as transferrable as this as demonstrated by the Sydney derogatory term ‘westie’ for those who live in the western suburbs. While in Sydney the people in the western suburbs are typically of a lower socio-economic background
if you came across someone from the western suburbs of Sydney as an examiner, I'm sure they wouldn't like this statement, this may not apply to somewhere such as Perth and thus it is restricted to its place of origin. Similarly compounds pertaining to ‘stingers’ such as ‘stinger enclosure’ and ‘stinger suit’ are of no interest to say, a Melbournian as they only relate to the precautions those from tropical Queensland must take. It is evident here that although there are modifications due to the circumstances surrounding different areas, people from all ends of Australia tend to share some aspects of national identity through language.
This paragraph made little sense to me. You first talk about how Australian English is uniform, but half the paragraph talks about differences. "Some" aspects of national identity through language? It seems like you are trying to say that there are commonalities in the language that link Australians. If so, you should probably split this into two paragraphs. To be honest, I'm not sure how relevant regional differences are to this essay.As with any rule there are exceptions, and although mainstream Australians stick by the linguistic trends mentioned earlier, many ethnic groups have created their own vibrant ethnolects. In the 20th century immigrants from Southern Europe and Lebanon were met with rampant xenophobia on their arrival shown by the lexemes ‘wog’ and ‘lebo’. The retaliation for these terms was the establishment of ‘skip’, a derogatory term for Anglo-Celtic Australians
so what? Explain the point of this. In the modern day however, young people of Southern European descent have used the label ‘wog’ affectionately for themselves, appropriating the stereotypes and connotations surrounding the lexeme. Although these youths come from a variety of backgrounds, they have a sense of group identity through their bi-cultural identity and thus speak in a very similar fashion. For example the /ð/ sound of the lexeme ‘them’ is frequently elided by ‘wogs’, whereas the final sound in the lexeme ‘pleasure is pronounced with an /ah/ phoneme. The inflectional suffix ‘-s’ is typically multiplied in informal conversation, for example ‘hey youse goings to Westfields?’ Furthermore the use of double comparatives is routine among ‘wogs’ with phrases such as ‘more better’ and ‘less stronger’ These distinguishing features have allowed young ‘wogs’ to create their own identity separate to both Anglo-Celtic Australians and their parents whom had experienced cultural cringe due to the initial xenophobia.
and how does this define us as a nation and a culture? I fail to see the link with the topic. Also, these examples are highly overused.Identity is shown through language in countless different ways
this is not a generic "identity" topic; I think you may have interpreted it that way. It would be a terrible falsehood to say everybody in this country shares the same identity. Though there is a general national identity that may apply to the majority of the country through slang, differences in language both regional and ethnic tell us that this generalisation only goes so far. Ultimately a single Australian English cannot define the culture, nor the national identity, of a multicultural Australia.
It's good to see that you're well ahead of others at this stage (:
Just a few comments. Sometimes, your writing doesn't seem to flow as well; you're not always building on what you're previously written. Also, Australian English is not simply the vernacular. You could have considered how Australian English consists of the vernacular, Aboriginal English and then ethnic varieties, showing how each of these varieties adds to our national identity. For instance, the vernacular could represent qualities that Australians as a nation wish to be perceived as having, Aboriginal English reflects the cultural beliefs of the original inhabitants of Australia and ethnolects are a result of the amalgamation of ethnic and Australian values, demonstrating Australia's cultural diversity and purported racial tolerance.
Also, I felt slang and colloquial language needed to be explored in much greater depth than this. You tried to group your discussion by qualities, which was good, but sometimes you didn't explain the relevance of examples. With ALL of your examples, make sure you explain the point of them. This holds for essay writing in general. Explain the importance and relevance of what you write.
And finally, examiners do love recent examples.
Keep up the work!
Yeah I wasn't quite sure about the second paragraph. Although I had a lot to talk about under the category of slang, I thought I might be stretching it a bit on the same point. Would I get away with using colloquial English as the focus for one of my paragraphs as well as slang? And were your examples and analysis on Chinese ethnolects etc. something you devised yourself or was it something I could find in a book or online?
Slang and colloquial English are important. As long as it's relevant, you can't really be stretching it. Try something and submit it. We'll tell you if it's ridiculous.
My examples of ethnolects were from personal experience LOL. You can find them online though.