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Professor_Oak

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Re: English Language essay submission and marking
« Reply #90 on: January 06, 2014, 05:53:02 pm »
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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?


Just had a quick look 
Some improvements that can be made:
- USE CONTEMPORARY EXAMPLES !
- I would be wary of using “Lebspeak” as a primary example of an ethnolect. In the exam(2013) , I used Chinese, Sri Lankan and Indian English ethnolect varieties, as firstly they were a variety and they reflected the “Asian Age” that we are having in contemporary Australian society.
- Maybe you could have made the paragraph order with “slang” and “ethnolects “, and then “national identity” .
-I think your second argument was a bit weird. It provided a counter argument , but I was confused. It didn’t really address the topic clearly enough. I think you could have discussed colloquial Australian English( ie. Diminutives, swearing,etc)

[/b]

I didn't really go over grammatical/spelling mistakes, so bear with me! :) Hope this helps a bit !
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Re: English Language essay submission and marking
« Reply #91 on: January 06, 2014, 06:11:05 pm »
+1
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 consider

As 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.
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Re: English Language essay submission and marking
« Reply #92 on: January 06, 2014, 06:38:45 pm »
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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?


I think you can if you explained it well !
We had a huge discussion at school where we shared ethnolect examples .
As a SAC, we had to do an entire essay on a researched ethnolect , in which I did a Indian English ethnolect speaker .
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Professor_Oak

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Re: English Language essay submission and marking
« Reply #93 on: January 06, 2014, 06:45:08 pm »
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Any advice for where to collect examples by the way? I've been told we should create a cuttings journal but I'm a bit confused on where I should get these cuttings from. Am I just looking for things that directly relate to the study design? E.g. article on Americanisms in Australian English.
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Re: English Language essay submission and marking
« Reply #94 on: January 29, 2014, 06:49:24 pm »
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Can I have some feedback on my essay please? I think I focused too much on Aus Eng

Spoiler
"Language acts as a badge of identity" Discuss.
One of the major roles of language is to act as an indicator of identity. This is evident especially with the unique lexicons of different dialects and registers of a language, but also with their different phonological and morphological features. Different registers and dialects are for most part mutually intelligible, but they each have their own quirks differentiating them and enabling them to be used to signal identity.

Different varieties of English demonstrate differences in their phonetics and phonology. Pronunciation of words differs between different varieties of English, and this can be used to mark the nationality of a speaker. For example, American English is rhotic (meaning that the /r/ phoneme is pronounced in nearly all positions of a word) and its speakers would pronounce "water" [wɔːrtər], whereas Australian English is non-rhotic (meaning the /r/ phoneme is only pronounced only if it is followed by a vowel sound in the same phrase) and its speakers would pronounce "water" [wɔːrtə]. Additionally, Australian English has retained the /j/ phoneme in words such as "new" ([nju:]) which has been lost in American English (where "new" is simply pronounced [nu:]). These phonetic differences enable different dialects of a language to function as markers of identity.

Varieties of language may also show unique prosodic features: many speakers of Australian English use a rising intonation at the end of their non-interrogative utterances (the high rising terminal). The high rising terminal is highly symbolic of Australian identity, reflecting its friendly nature and encouraging inclusiveness. The similarity to a questioning intonation expresses uncertainty and doubt, which enables it to act as a hedging device in case something offensive was said. The interrogative nature of the high-rising terminal may also prompt back-channelling, enabling the speaker to remain aware of the needs of the listener so that conversation can proceed smoothly. Prosodic features also serve to provide information about the speaker. It is quite easy to tell the rough age of a speaker from the way they speak (with softer, less rhythmic speech found at older ages due to less efficient vocal organs) and also their gender (females tend to have higher pitched voices than males).

Language can also indicate identity through its lexicon. Registers are most easily differentiated when their lexicons are compared. For example, the term "oxidative phosphorylation" comes from a biological register and those who are not in the field of biology would likely not be familiar with it. Thus, language is able to serve as a tool for determining who is in the "in-group" and who is not: it is likely that those acquainted with these field-specific jargon are knowledgeable in that field. The same lexeme may be found in different registers with different meanings. In the medical register, the lexeme "stat" means immediately, whereas in the online gaming register the term is an abbreviation of "statistics". The lexis of national varieties of English also differs, and offers insights into aspects of their respective cultural identities. For example, the Australian lexeme "battler" and the American lexeme "try-hard" are equivalent in their denotative meaning, but their associated connotations differ markedly.  "Battler" has positive connotations and reflects the notion of egalitarianism deeply rooted in the Australian identity - trying hard is something to be applauded, no matter what your situation. Conversely, "try-hard" carries negative connotations, reflecting a culture where a huge emphasis is placed on winning and where trying is demeaned. The frequency of profanity in Australian discourse is another example of language acting as an identifier. Profanity has become an "important indicator of Australianness and of cultural values such as friendliness, informality, laidbackness, [and] mateship" (Burridge). In many Australian contexts, lexemes such as "cunt" carry positive connotations and see use as terms of endearment: this would definitely not be the case in countries like Britain, where the lexeme is seen as incredibly offensive and vulgar.

Different varieties of language may have distinct morphological features, which can highlight cultural values and reinforce group solidarity. Australian English is unusually fond of diminutives, a form of derivational morphology including suffixes like -o, -y and -ie as in "smoko" for cigarette break. Many of these hypocoristics are uniquely Australian and would be unintelligible to those speaking other dialects of English. They reflect Australia's informality and promote solidarity amongst Australians. This is highlighted by McDonalds referring to themselves as "Maccas" in Australia in order to appear more Australian and more appealing to the Australian consumer.

Language is able to function effectively as a badge of identity. Unique linguistic features serve to reflect the cultural identity of the speakers of a language and to serve as a means of being able to identify members of a particular group, whether it be a nation, a profession or a social group. 
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MrsNicoleB

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Re: English Language essay submission and marking
« Reply #95 on: February 06, 2014, 03:36:00 pm »
+2
Picky pointers:

-   HRT – can be used to hedge, but this is not relevant to your argument about identity.  You could mention that it is more often used by young females – a marker of their identity. Likewise with backchannelling – not relevant to your argument.  Remember that your essays are to be directed at a knowledgeable audience – you’re not trying to teach us linguistic terms, we already know them. Use every word wisely – you’ll be under time constraints in the exam, you don’t want to waste time.
-   try to work in ‘solidarity’ when you talk about ‘in-group’, or ‘close social distance’.
-   Take care when using expletives as examples – it makes examiners cringe.
-   Good examples, particularly like ‘Maccas’ – just remember that other people (e.g. Brits) use diminutives too, it’s not just Aussies.

I don’t think that you focussed on Australian English too much – the course is focussed on Australian English.  You could definitely have commented more on different types of identities – being Australian is only part of a person’s identity. 

Some teachers will want you to plan your essay around the sub-systems – but I think you are a strong enough student to try it another way.  E.g. you could plan your essay around identities – talk about professionals, teenagers, male / females, Australians vs other.  The examiners will read between the lines and see whether you have covered different sub-systems (although your teacher may have other ideas!)

Overall this is an excellent start considering the course has just begun!

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Re: English Language essay submission and marking
« Reply #96 on: February 06, 2014, 05:58:07 pm »
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We're revising subsystems at our school atm haha :-\. You guys up to essay writing in class/course or, is this your own work ethic?
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Re: English Language essay submission and marking
« Reply #97 on: February 06, 2014, 08:36:38 pm »
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We're revising subsystems at our school atm haha :-\. You guys up to essay writing in class/course or, is this your own work ethic?

We've just started on informal language. We'll be doing/learning about essay writing next week and will probably start writing essays once every 2 weeks. I haven't done any essays as of now, haha.

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Re: English Language essay submission and marking
« Reply #98 on: February 06, 2014, 08:44:46 pm »
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We're revising subsystems at our school atm haha :-\. You guys up to essay writing in class/course or, is this your own work ethic?

Same with our school :/
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Re: English Language essay submission and marking
« Reply #99 on: February 06, 2014, 09:38:20 pm »
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I don't think that revising the sub-systems is such a bad way to go - at this stage, you need to focus on the content rather than jumping straight into essay writing.  Else you'll have nothing interesting to say!  :P 
Doing practice essays is a great idea though - time them, aim to spend 50-60 minutes on them a la the exam. 

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Re: English Language essay submission and marking
« Reply #100 on: March 10, 2014, 03:05:56 pm »
+1
I would appreciate someone marking my essay for Unit 1 on 'Language Acquisition'. Please be harsh if you want. It's my first EngLang essay and I'd rather set things right at first, instead of botching them later on in the year and then coming to realise it.

Spoiler
Topic: A child’s acquisition of language is a sophisticated process which requires several factors to operate in unison.

Child language acquisition is indeed a complex process, comprising of a multitude of stages – each sacrosanct and related to one another.   For a child to acquire language, there are several factors that must occur simultaneously during the ‘Critical language acquisition period’ to allow the child to progress throughout these stages. Additionally, a child must develop physically, and be influenced culturally, to grasp the language most effectively.

The ‘Babbling stage’ is the first stage of language acquisition. It signifies the child seeing language as a tool, and thus attempting to possess it, first by organising sounds. Physical development is intrinsic in this stage, relying mainly on development of vocal mechanisms, for the child to differentiate labial nasals like ‘m’ from ‘p’ or ‘b’. The ‘Holophrastic stage’ follows; the child now producing single and isolated, but recognizable, words. Social factors, such as exposure to parentese, help the child progress to the ‘Telegraphic stage’ after experiencing the use of more than one word. Yet, on their own, toddlers are cavalier in use of the language; rules are more commonly overgeneralised, and their context of use is disregarded. Such behaviour can be controlled by positive and negative feedback by the parent, in order to encourage sophisticated responses and accelerate language acquisition from the multi-word stage to school going age. 

It is common for a child to face many challenges in learning the meaning of words. Therefore, comprehension of a language must develop before its production and use. In Jones’ Children Growing Up, Catherine is initially unable to describe an object held “upside down”. After comprehending her mother’s use of the word, however, she is able to pronounce and use it. She is then encouraged by positive feedback, and is “pleased with herself…as she used the phrase correctly for the first time”, suggesting that she now, indelibly, knows the essential meaning of the word and to use it when required. Comprehension of a language too relies on both the environment and culture in which the child is immersed in. Children learn to speak by discerning regular patterns in the language they hear, and using these patterns to construct their own original sentences. They compare their structures with those of adults and revise any that reveal themselves to be wrong until their speech matches that of the adults in their particular speech community. Therefore, it is crucial that the environment is interactive to encourage children to use and experiment with the language around them in determining what’s linguistically acceptable.

The ‘critical period’ highlights the sophistication of ‘language acquisition’ and proves it not confoundedly innate and biologically linked. Language acquisition is dependent on appropriate linguistic input – such is demonstrated by children who have experienced extreme social isolation. Language experience, in one’s first language, must be gained before a certain age. After the ‘critical period’, vocal mechanisms are set and, having not experienced language adequately, a child will struggle to grasp the language, in spite of its utmost efforts.
Social, physical and environmental factors are all central to language acquisition. Even so that it is never one of these that allow the language acquisition process to operate in unison. For example, a child equipped solely with the necessary vocal mechanisms for language acquisition will not get past the babbling stage. Likewise, a child placed in a milieu where social interaction is minimal might not speak at all. Rather, it is a combination of all factors that attribute linguistic abilities and fluent use of a language.

The stages of language acquisition are dependent on a multitude of factors. The prerequisites of language acquisition are the same for all but, children face various challenges in acquiring a language. Fluency can be attained through comprehension of language– also relying on an interactive environment where children can learn from their mistakes. A combination of social, physical and environmental factors allows the stages of language acquisition to operate in unison.
For anyone that didn't realise, the essay can be read by hitting the gray 'Spoiler' bar :P
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alchemy

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Re: English Language essay submission and marking
« Reply #101 on: March 11, 2014, 11:06:50 pm »
0
I would appreciate someone marking my essay for Unit 1 on 'Language Acquisition'. Please be harsh if you want. It's my first EngLang essay and I'd rather set things right at first, instead of botching them later on in the year and then coming to realise it.

Spoiler
Topic: A child’s acquisition of language is a sophisticated process which requires several factors to operate in unison.

Child language acquisition is indeed a complex process, comprising of a multitude of stages – each sacrosanct and related to one another.   For a child to acquire language, there are several factors that must occur simultaneously during the ‘Critical language acquisition period’ to allow the child to progress throughout these stages. Additionally, a child must develop physically, and be influenced culturally, to grasp the language most effectively.

The ‘Babbling stage’ is the first stage of language acquisition. It signifies the child seeing language as a tool, and thus attempting to possess it, first by organising sounds. Physical development is intrinsic in this stage, relying mainly on development of vocal mechanisms, for the child to differentiate labial nasals like ‘m’ from ‘p’ or ‘b’. The ‘Holophrastic stage’ follows; the child now producing single and isolated, but recognizable, words. Social factors, such as exposure to parentese, help the child progress to the ‘Telegraphic stage’ after experiencing the use of more than one word. Yet, on their own, toddlers are cavalier in use of the language; rules are more commonly overgeneralised, and their context of use is disregarded. Such behaviour can be controlled by positive and negative feedback by the parent, in order to encourage sophisticated responses and accelerate language acquisition from the multi-word stage to school going age. 

It is common for a child to face many challenges in learning the meaning of words. Therefore, comprehension of a language must develop before its production and use. In Jones’ Children Growing Up, Catherine is initially unable to describe an object held “upside down”. After comprehending her mother’s use of the word, however, she is able to pronounce and use it. She is then encouraged by positive feedback, and is “pleased with herself…as she used the phrase correctly for the first time”, suggesting that she now, indelibly, knows the essential meaning of the word and to use it when required. Comprehension of a language too relies on both the environment and culture in which the child is immersed in. Children learn to speak by discerning regular patterns in the language they hear, and using these patterns to construct their own original sentences. They compare their structures with those of adults and revise any that reveal themselves to be wrong until their speech matches that of the adults in their particular speech community. Therefore, it is crucial that the environment is interactive to encourage children to use and experiment with the language around them in determining what’s linguistically acceptable.

The ‘critical period’ highlights the sophistication of ‘language acquisition’ and proves it not confoundedly innate and biologically linked. Language acquisition is dependent on appropriate linguistic input – such is demonstrated by children who have experienced extreme social isolation. Language experience, in one’s first language, must be gained before a certain age. After the ‘critical period’, vocal mechanisms are set and, having not experienced language adequately, a child will struggle to grasp the language, in spite of its utmost efforts.
Social, physical and environmental factors are all central to language acquisition. Even so that it is never one of these that allow the language acquisition process to operate in unison. For example, a child equipped solely with the necessary vocal mechanisms for language acquisition will not get past the babbling stage. Likewise, a child placed in a milieu where social interaction is minimal might not speak at all. Rather, it is a combination of all factors that attribute linguistic abilities and fluent use of a language.

The stages of language acquisition are dependent on a multitude of factors. The prerequisites of language acquisition are the same for all but, children face various challenges in acquiring a language. Fluency can be attained through comprehension of language– also relying on an interactive environment where children can learn from their mistakes. A combination of social, physical and environmental factors allows the stages of language acquisition to operate in unison.

Bump! I would really like this marked. It's due tomorrow... Essay can be read by clicking on the 'spoiler' tab above, as charmanderp mentioned as well. Thanks in advance guys.

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Re: English Language essay submission and marking
« Reply #102 on: March 12, 2014, 04:59:42 pm »
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Bump! I would really like this marked. It's due tomorrow... Essay can be read by clicking on the 'spoiler' tab above, as charmanderp mentioned as well. Thanks in advance guys.

Bump! I got an extension :) It's now due tomorrow. Will someone please be able to mark it before then?  :'(    Thank you!

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Re: English Language essay submission and marking
« Reply #103 on: March 15, 2014, 02:03:34 pm »
+1
Dunno why I couldn't seem to reply earlier, but oh well.

One reason why people may not have looked at the essay is because Language Acquisition is not part of 3/4, so people have largely forgotten what they DID do on Language Acquisition, myself included.
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Re: English Language essay submission and marking
« Reply #104 on: March 24, 2014, 12:15:24 pm »
0
Practice analysis for the article at http://blogs.abc.net.au/thebuzz/2011/04/d-for-disappointing.html
My analysis skills are greatly lacking so please critique it harshly
Spoiler
D for disappointing.

This informal, written blog post, D for Disappointing, was created as an angry outburst about a disappointing performance by Bob Dylan. It takes place the night after the author went to Bluesfest to watch her idol to perform, Bob Dylan. Since she could not see him perform, she creates the blog as a rant which contains numerous morphological and lexical patterning to aid her in discharging her anger.

Morphological and lexical patterning:
There are multiple morphological and lexical features in the text. The primary function of these elements is to stress the informality of the text through the use of nonstandard English. The use of contractions such as “couldn’t” and “that’d” enhances the informality of the text since they are non-standard features of spoken language. By doing so, it enables her to discharge her anger more effectively by appealing to a more intimate audience. This is complemented by the use of assimilation for the lexical item “nothin’” which further stresses the informality of the discourse.

Syntax:
There are myriad syntactical features within the text. Frequent use of fragments and short, simple sentences in the text enable it to be an easier read for a larger range of audience while allowing the author to emphasis her point. On line five, the author uses the two sequential fragments “Bob Dylan. In the flesh” to highlight the importance of seeing the musician play live. This serves a social function as it contrasts with the annoyance of him in the letter, thus portraying her disappointment in him. Furthermore, the use of the imperative “Get over yourself” is indirectly intended for Bob Dylan which serves in allowing the author personal satisfaction as well as a release of anger and tension

Discourse Structure:
Since the text is an extract from a blog post, it conforms to the convention of the text type. This is achieved through the distinct use of coherence such as the heading, “D for Disappointing”, and short paragraphs. These short paragraphs highlight the informality of the text as they demonstrate a lack of complex sentences. Furthermore, the discourse incorporates a letter to Bob Dylan for the last segment as a contrast from the normal convention of a blog post. By doing so, it further emphasises the social function of the text, expression of the disappointment in Bob Dylan.
As this is an opinionated piece, it includes numerous amounts of hedging expressions such as “about” and “kind of”. These phrases are exploited to avoid a definite commitment for the blogger and to remove social distance between the blogger and the audience. Likewise, the writer utilises the euphemistic metaphor “you’re kind of a tool” to be insulting yet polite. This is done so that the author would remain in a positive viewpoint from her audience thus persuading them to agree with her.