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EulerFan102

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English Language 2018 quotes and language examples
« on: January 09, 2018, 11:19:25 am »
+13
Well, another year has started and that means it's time to start collecting quotes and language examples for 2018 English Language. It's a daunting task at first, there's no one great place to find examples, they can come from anywhere...

So that's where this thread comes in, we're going to create the gosh darn most beautiful English Language resource ever seen. When you find a relevant quote, news story, language example, or anything else about language that you find interesting, please, please post it here. The more contributors we have, the better this thread will be; the better this thread is, the more you can gain from it.

A big thank you to the following users for contributing:
Joseph41, MissSmiley, TheAspiringDoc


Examples

Suffixation in Australian English:
"Another word I don't want to read or hear any more is "plebiscite", that is, unless we can freshen it up, as we do most annoying words in Australia, with an abbreviation. I vote changing it to plebbo." (from The Age, published in the hard-copy paper on 2 Jan 2018, link)
Shows the effect of the classic Australian suffixation, which can "freshen ... up" a word, making it more informal/casual

Australian colloquialisms:
"up the guts", "grunners" (from Tradie underwear ad with Nick Cummins, televised during Jan 2018)
Playful Australian colloquialisms, used to create humour and lower informality, reflect Australian identity of speaker

Conversion of word class:
"They comedy-ed us" (comedian Ben Lomas, The Little Dum Dum Club podcast, 3 Jan 2018, link)
Playful use of language, done for comedic effect and entertaining function, could be related to profession/youth identity

Jargon:
"off stump", "cover drive", "hook shot", "short boundaries", "leg side" (all used by Adam Gilchrist while commentating the Big Bash, 10 Jan 2018)
Using cricketing jargon to communicate effectively, perhaps marking social boundaries as well

Taboo language:
Aussie tennis player Nick Kyrgios was fined for swearing at the crowd during his Australian Open game. (ABC News, 16 Jan 2018, link)
Taboo language used in an inappropriate setting

Quotes

Prescriptivism:
"Linguistic bugbears are always in the eye of beholder..." (Kate Burridge, The Conversation, 2 Jan 2018, link)

Double-speak:
"I've spent fifteen years writing books and articles about the the murder of the language by, the public language at least, by managementspeak and all the rest. I don't it's made a scrap of difference, it just gets worse. Goes deeper and deeper into the culture." (Don Watson, ABC Overnights, 9 Jan 2018, link)

Jargon:
"The message from many management gurus is that plain and simple English words are what we need to achieve clear communication, and in the interests of de-jargonising modern corporate-speak we could even revive a few." (Kate Burridge, The Conversation, 2 Jan 2018, link)

Politically correct language:
"What we’d say must be politically correct and gender nuanced in order to afford respect to women." (Henry Gray, educator at Charles Darwin University, 3 Jan 2018)

Ethnic variation in Australian English:
"If one in four of us are born overseas, why does almost every media portrayal of this difference, have accents that are more crocodile Dundee than Lee Lin Ching? Or the other end of the spectrum, where we are shown as almost caricatures." (Greens MP Dr Mehreen Faruqi, The Age, 16 Jan 2018, link)

"For years new migrants have been adopting Australian slang, but the rest of Australia is now assuming their lingo." Many other relevant quotes, with some good linguist quotes too, in this article. (Abbie O'Brien, SBS, 16 Jan 2018, link)

Suffixation in Australian English:
"Australian English is a jumble of abbreviations, diminutives, and what are called hypocoristics." Many other relevant quotes in this article. (Dan Nosowitz, Atlas Obscura, 4 Jan 2018, link)
« Last Edit: January 30, 2018, 10:42:48 pm by EulerFan102 »

Joseph41

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Re: English Language 2018 quotes and language examples
« Reply #1 on: January 09, 2018, 11:43:08 am »
+4
For reference, the 2017 version of this thread can be found here. There are many quotes and examples that may still be relevant in 2018.

This recent article (January, 2018) by Kate Burridge has some good quotes.

"Linguistic bugbears are always in the eye of beholder..."

"The message from many management gurus is that plain and simple English words are what we need to achieve clear communication, and in the interests of de-jargonising modern corporate-speak we could even revive a few."

"... I know it's easy to tilt at the jargon of others. But when expressions start doing something to people's neck hairs, it's time to let them go."

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MissSmiley

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Re: English Language 2018 quotes and language examples
« Reply #2 on: January 09, 2018, 12:39:04 pm »
+5
Great thread!! Thanks a lot for starting this! :)
Examples:

1. "What we’d say must be politically correct and gender nuanced in order to afford respect to women."
by Henry Gray (educator at Charles Darwin University) commented on 3rd Jan
= So, perhaps men are being aware of their dominance over females and want to change this by using politically correct language which won't condescend women

2. Comment on the complexity of Legalese by Ian Weldon (frequent commentator of "The Conversation" : "Lawyers abandoned some time ago “as shall be hereinafter set forth in the like manner PROVIDED THAT there shall be no male assign who shall not take a share of the same otherwise than as provided for herein”.
To this, Andy Saunders replied : "Your example only has one double negative, and way too few galloping conjunctives to be real lawyerese."
This reflects the ongoing problems of common public to understand legalese (referred to as 'lawyerese'!). Despite Weldon's example being unintelligible to the majority of the population, Saunders says Legalese can get even more complex with more than just "one double negative," and way more "conjunctives" than Weldon has used.
This raises the importance using Plain English wherever possible in Legalese, so that everyone in the public can understand it!
(5th Jan 2018)

2017 : Further Maths [38]
2018 : English [45] ;English Language [43] ; Food Studies [47] ;French [33] ;Legal Studies [39]
VCE ATAR : 98.10
2019 - 2023 : Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts at Monash University

I'm selling a huge electronic copy of  VCE English essays and resources document (with essays that have teacher feedback and marks) for $10. Feel free to PM me for details!

EulerFan102

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Re: English Language 2018 quotes and language examples
« Reply #3 on: January 11, 2018, 09:38:22 am »
+3
Added some new examples and quotes into the top post, from Adam Gilchrist, Nick Cummins and Don Watson.
Also added some of the contributions into the top post  :)
Big thanks to those that have contributed so far  ;D ;D

Joseph41

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Re: English Language 2018 quotes and language examples
« Reply #4 on: January 11, 2018, 09:50:09 am »
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Pretty interesting article here from late 2017:

Quote
One might say it’s all a bloody mess.

Only not on the the BBC, it seems. Or maybe you can - no one seems to know.

No sooner had Andrew Marr uttered the word during his interview with David Davis on Sunday than he immediately apologised.

Quote
The confusion arises, academics suggested, because no one properly understands the etymology of “bloody” and therefore whether it was ever right to consider it a swear word.

According to Patrick Hanks, former chief editor of the Oxford English Dictionaries, the term may have once been a swear word but began a “process of normalisation” some decades ago, driven by its usage in Australia.

Quote
Many scholars believe the word is best understood as an “intensifier” used to add emphasis to the noun or adjective it precedes.

Quote
“As a swear word these days I think an Australian would laugh at you, but then they talk about ordinary human beings as “b------s”.

In Australia “bloody” is extremely widely used, largely free of any offensive connotations, while in the United States the word is also not considered offensive but is hardly used at all.

Quote
Dr Emma Byrne, a neuroscientist and author of Swearing Is Good For You, said the presenter had clearly used the word for the purpose of intensifying his point, but added: “The problem with broadcasting is swearing is so culturally dependent.”

I particularly like that last quote:
"The problem with broadcasting is swearing is so culturally dependent." - Dr Emma Byrne

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MissSmiley

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Re: English Language 2018 quotes and language examples
« Reply #5 on: January 11, 2018, 12:01:59 pm »
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Thanks for the compilation, linguists !!  ;D

1. The recent McDonalds' ad (posted on YouTube 28th Nov 2017) says "Go full summer" - represents Australian identity (Australians love their summer!)
And I think this phrase also represents an interesting syntactic variation. With the verb 'go,' we would naturally expect an adjective succeeding it (e.g. 'go hard') or even an adverb after 'go,' but 'full summer' in this phrase interestingly would act as an adverb, as in 'go' how? full summer !  ;D

2. Orlis Morgan (mother of) an Australian-born Canadian son, Gareth Morgan, a pilot who died when his seaplane crashed into a river north of Sydney on New Year's Eve:
"There aren't enough words in the English language to begin to describe the depth of his soul, the warmth of his smile and the clear blue of his eyes."
This suggests that the English lexicon seems too small when individuals have to express their innermost feelings, whether it be grief or pleasure. This also reminds me of the clichéd "I'm speechless," when we can't express our admiration or (even shock) for something !!  :)

2017 : Further Maths [38]
2018 : English [45] ;English Language [43] ; Food Studies [47] ;French [33] ;Legal Studies [39]
VCE ATAR : 98.10
2019 - 2023 : Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts at Monash University

I'm selling a huge electronic copy of  VCE English essays and resources document (with essays that have teacher feedback and marks) for $10. Feel free to PM me for details!

EulerFan102

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Re: English Language 2018 quotes and language examples
« Reply #6 on: January 11, 2018, 02:04:28 pm »
+4
And I think this phrase also represents an interesting syntactic variation. With the verb 'go,' we would naturally expect an adjective succeeding it (e.g. 'go hard') or even an adverb after 'go,' but 'full summer' in this phrase interestingly would act as an adverb, as in 'go' how? full summer !  ;D

Yeah, definitely an interesting bit of variation! Hadn't really noticed this one before. It's similar in structure to phrases like "go full circle" or "go full bore", but there is so much variation out there with the "go full ___" structure. Here are some that have appeared in headlines in the past week alone: Go Full '80s, Go Full “In Living Color”, Go Full 'Rocky', go full crypto, GO FULL DIE HARD, GOES FULL WONDER WOMAN. Seems like a noun phrase commonly fills in the "___" space, particularly iconic movies, at least in this sample. Very interesting phrase.

cookiedream

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Re: English Language 2018 quotes and language examples
« Reply #7 on: January 12, 2018, 08:19:07 am »
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Hello all!

I'd just like to talk about two books which I found quite helpful throughout Eng Lang! They mainly helped with my understanding of the content :)

"Word Up" by Mark McCrindle
I used this mainly for the Australian English and Technology topics, but I remember it covering a wide range of linguistic concepts. It talks about traits/values shown by AE, influences behind AE (really useful for essay topics about 'language change over time'), a bit about attitudes towards AE, influence of technology on AE and English itself, influence of technology on the globalisation of English, Australianisms, Australian slang, political speech, taboo, PC and much more. I borrowed this from my school library, so it might be available in many other school libraries as well.

"The Pun Also Rises" by John Pollack
Didn't fully finish this, but from what I read it helped provide context for linguistic ambiguity predominantly. There's also discussion around the influences on the English Language over time (again, good for 'language change over time') and attitudes towards the English Language. A fun read! Got this along with my Year 11 English Language award, so I'm not sure if you'll have to buy it or if you can borrow it from a library.

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Joseph41

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Re: English Language 2018 quotes and language examples
« Reply #8 on: January 17, 2018, 04:49:18 pm »
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How multiculturalism is changing the way we speak

Quote
Australia is more culturally diverse than ever before. Nearly half of the population were either born overseas or have a parent born overseas, according to the latest census data. And as our diversity continues to evolve, so too does our language.
Quote
In 2016, there were over 300 separately identified languages spoken in Australian homes.
Quote
Ingrid Piller, Professor of Applied Linguistics at Sydney's Macquarie University, says multiculturalism is altering the way English is spoken in Australia.
Quote
“English is the language of Australia but it's becoming a kind of Australian English with influences from all kinds of other languages. And that’s really different from the other Englishes: American, British."

On Australian slang:
Quote
Professor Piller says it is a challenge for many migrants.

"Many of the migrants we've done language learning with, they come from highly educated backgrounds and have very good formal English that they'd learnt before they came to Australia," she said. "But then they had experiences where they just didn't understand."

On linguistic and cultural borrowing:
Quote
"Cultural borrowings" are beginning to flourish, Professor Pillar said. "We see Arabic words, like 'halal,' making it into the Australian dictionary - 'yalah', 'habib', those kind of words. 
Quote
On the streets of Sydney, SBS News found evidence that "cultural borrowings" were alive and well. Almost half of Sydneysiders have a parent who was born overseas, and many non-Arabic speakers appeared to be aware of the meaning of common expressions like 'habib' and 'yalah'.

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EulerFan102

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Re: English Language 2018 quotes and language examples
« Reply #9 on: January 17, 2018, 05:29:08 pm »
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How multiculturalism is changing the way we speak
Wow, what a great article. So applicable to so many areas of EngLang.

Suffixation in Australian English:
"Australian English is a jumble of abbreviations, diminutives, and what are called hypocoristics." So many great quotes from this article on Australians love of that informal suffixation (Dan Nosowitz, Atlas Obscura, 4 Jan 2018, link)
Lots of information about suffixation in Australian English, including examples, linguist quotes and discussion on how it reflects Australian society

Taboo:
The ever-polarising Nick Kyrgios fined yesterday for swearing at the crowd during his game. (ABC News, 16 Jan 2018, link)
Taboo language used in an inappropriate setting

MissSmiley

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Re: English Language 2018 quotes and language examples
« Reply #10 on: January 17, 2018, 06:21:04 pm »
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1. Taboo for Aboriginal Australians (link to history):
Kim Scott (Australian novelist of Indigenous Australian ancestry. He is also a descendant of the Noongar people of Western Australia) said : "A group of Aboriginal people revisit, for the first time in many decades, a taboo place: the site of a historical massacre." (15th Jan 2018)

2. Media (journalists, news commentators, etc) wanting people who have an Australian accent to have a career in the field. A vast numbers of Australians are left out of media just because they may be immigrants who have a different accent:
Dr Mehreen Faruqi says:
"If one in four of us are born overseas, why does almost every media portrayal of this difference, have accents that are more crocodile Dundee than Lee Lin Ching? Or the other end of the spectrum, where we are shown as almost caricatures."
This shows the discriminatory nature of Australian media.

WOULD LOVE TO GET SOME MORE CONTEMPORARY EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENG LANG STUDENTS AS WELL !!!
Thanks a lot Joseph41 and EulerFan102 for being proactive!!
« Last Edit: January 17, 2018, 06:40:30 pm by MissSmiley »

2017 : Further Maths [38]
2018 : English [45] ;English Language [43] ; Food Studies [47] ;French [33] ;Legal Studies [39]
VCE ATAR : 98.10
2019 - 2023 : Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts at Monash University

I'm selling a huge electronic copy of  VCE English essays and resources document (with essays that have teacher feedback and marks) for $10. Feel free to PM me for details!

EulerFan102

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Re: English Language 2018 quotes and language examples
« Reply #11 on: January 27, 2018, 01:01:03 pm »
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Two recent things on taboo language and swearing:

A recent segment from The Project on swearing, in particular the benefits of swearing in the workplace. Features Cat Cook and word nerd David Astle. (23 Jan 2018, link, the swearing segment starts at the 31 minute mark, and the video's only available for 3 months)

A segment from ABC Overnights called "Swear to who? The science behind why you use bad language", featuring Melissa Mohr who's written a new book on swearing (20 Jan 2018, link)

MissSmiley

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Re: English Language 2018 quotes and language examples
« Reply #12 on: January 27, 2018, 02:13:57 pm »
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In response to this article: https://theconversation.com/why-does-the-uk-have-so-many-accents-88434 dated 10th Jan, the following are 3 comments I found interesting:

1. Anita Spinks (teacher and a friend of The Conversation) starts the comments thread saying:

There’s very little regional variation in Australian English though many claim to be able to detect a difference. (Usually after being alerted, may I rather uncharitably point out).
This fact makes an interesting comparison to US English which has distinct, regional accents, obviously due to their longer settlement of the continent by native UK speakers.
There are a few different nouns used in individual Australian states, but these are precious few in comparison to our native British counterparts.

2. Then, Dennis Alexander replies to this saying:

Hi Anita,largely agree.  There is, though, some small regional variation developing around some regions. But, one would not necessarily be able to tell the difference between people of different states based on accents alone. The most prominent accent change underway is in Sydney where vowel sounds are tending towards their New Zealand counterparts: no, they are not there yet, but there is a trend in that direction. However, I would not predict much divergence on a city by city basis. At the same time, country vs city might become more pronounced.

3. To Dennis' reply, Anita apologises!! quoting Dennis:
The most prominent accent change underway is in Sydney where vowel sounds are tending towards their New Zealand counterparts:
and replies:

Really!!! That’s dreadful! Sorry New Zealanders; I didn’t mean it! ;-(  I can hear a slight Americanisation in some instances. The tendency to substitute a d for a t in words like city, pretty and little.
Don’t get me started on young people; there’s something very strange happening. They appear to revert to normal once they join the workforce, thankfully.
 :D :D

Also, another reply to Anita's post:

Max King:
Yeah, yer a bonzer sheila Anita; yez bloods worth bottlin. Crikey, yez got the gift o the gab, and yez writes real edikated like. I betcha speak real good like the queen and give all yer empty beer bottles to the scouts. If my mum was alive she woulda said, “Now you take that Anita, she’s a real lady and she’s not half posh”.

2017 : Further Maths [38]
2018 : English [45] ;English Language [43] ; Food Studies [47] ;French [33] ;Legal Studies [39]
VCE ATAR : 98.10
2019 - 2023 : Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts at Monash University

I'm selling a huge electronic copy of  VCE English essays and resources document (with essays that have teacher feedback and marks) for $10. Feel free to PM me for details!

zuleika

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Re: English Language 2018 quotes and language examples
« Reply #13 on: January 28, 2018, 07:00:40 pm »
+1
Wow! Such a great list and January isn't even finished yet!

MissSmiley

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Re: English Language 2018 quotes and language examples
« Reply #14 on: January 28, 2018, 08:12:18 pm »
0
Wow! Such a great list and January isn't even finished yet!
Feel free to add some of your examples and linguist quotes too! (if you're doing English Language this year)
Let's get some variety!

2017 : Further Maths [38]
2018 : English [45] ;English Language [43] ; Food Studies [47] ;French [33] ;Legal Studies [39]
VCE ATAR : 98.10
2019 - 2023 : Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts at Monash University

I'm selling a huge electronic copy of  VCE English essays and resources document (with essays that have teacher feedback and marks) for $10. Feel free to PM me for details!