Australian English Setting the scene

Terminology: Languages, dialects and accents  What is a dialect?  refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors, such as social class. A dialect that is associated with a particular social class can be termed a socialect, a dialect that is associated with a particular ethnic group can be termed as ethnolect, and a regional dialect may be termed a regiolect. Any variety of a language constitutes "a dialect", including any Standard varieties.

What is the difference between language and dialects?  The pioneering sociolinguist and Yiddish scholar Max Weinreich had a quote  “A language is a dialect with an army and navy”

Distinguishing the two  Two kinds of criteria distinguish languages from dialects.  The first are social and political: in this view, “languages” are typically prestigious, official and written, whereas “dialects” are mostly spoken, unofficial and looked down upon.  if two related kinds of speech are so close that speakers can have a conversation and understand each other, they are dialects of a single language. If comprehension is difficult to impossible, they are distinct languages.

Dialects  In ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ Harper Lee wrote in dialects:  Lula : I wants to know why you bringing’ white chillun to nigger church.  Translation: I want to know why you are bringing white children to a church for Negroes.

This is a grey area: (of course because its lang)  So how can we draw a distinction between dialects and languages?  The easiest way- when speakers stop being able to talk to one another, dialects turn into languages.  This can develop over time:  Proto Germanic- The parent language of English, German and Dutch eventually diverged into being separate languages.

22cLA

Regional variation  Linguistic variation associated with geographical location-  Person in New York, Christchurch will have different varieties of English.  Speakers will sound different, they can have a different lexicon, but at times will all speak standard English  David Crystal collected samples from 40 different English Broadsheets. They were all collected on the same day- He claimed that on linguistic grounds it was impossible to tell which paper belonged to which country. There was nothing obvious in regional use of grammar etc  Of course in non codified areas differences may be more obvious: 

Social Variation.  Social parameters to do with age, gender, sexual orientation, socio economic class, education etc will correlate with the way you sound.  A group of people with the same socio economic characteristics and the same linguistic repertoire, would be recognised as having the same dialect (or sociolect)  In Australia this is most obvious in accents

Social Variation

Social Economic -In places like Britain people are still rigidly defined and conscious of class. Here the features of class dialect are easier to identify. -Many people believe this does not exist in Australia -Divisions are less rigidly structured and rigid than Britain- people can cut through these with more ease -Nonetheless we all tend to associate with those who are similar to ourselves in terms of things like educational background, occupational status and income.

Too posh, too bogan 

CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING Usually higher up the social scale, the more standard. Non standard dialects are associated with speakers who fall towards the end of the social scale. However- There is a lot of variation. Peoples use is generally a use of frequency rather than absolute use or non use. A lot will depend on the context. Speakers will adjust their language up and down the scale

Upper Middle Bogan

Attitudes to variation. Covert/Overt Prestige: Covert- Linguistic features that are recognised by a culturally dominant group- For example in society- Standard English would have COVERT prestige. Overt Prestige- Linguistic features valued in a sub-group- usually associated with a non- standard language Eg. Surfers, skaters

Features of Australian English- In short Phonology:  BROAD ‘Strine’  Strine is a term used to describe a broad accent of A.E. The term is derived from a shortened phonetic rendition of the pronunciation of the word "Australian" in an exaggerated Broad Australian accent, drawing upon the tendency of this accent to run words together.Broad Australian  Essentially the accent relates to the use of five key vowels: See Page on 206 and copy this down in your book.  Use a copy of the Phonetic alphabet to translate.

High Rising Terminal  The high rising terminal (HRT), also known as upspeak, uptalk, rising inflection, or high rising intonation (HRI),  A feature of some accents of English where declaratives are said with an rising inflectionEnglish  Marker of Australian English  A 1986 report stated that in Sydneyit is used more than twice as often by young generations as by older ones, and particularly by women.  It has been suggested that the HRT has a facilitative function in conversation (i.e., it encourages the addressee to participate in the conversation) and such functions are more often used by women. It also subtly indicates that the speaker is "not finished yet", thus perhaps discouraging interruption  Its use is also suggestive of seeking assurance from the listener that they are aware of what the speaker is referring to

High Rising Terminal  Stereotyped and stigmatised as Austrlian since the 1960s when people became aware of it  Whilst it can be associated with insecurity- research now details it as an intonation pattern occurring in the construction of extended turns  Functions can also be down to politeness, regulating conversational interaction  Parodys in Australian TV Kate and Kim

Broad accent:  Longer vowels  Wider dipthongs  High Rising tone