English Language Unit 3/4 terms

Factors of Language:

Context - the setting (time and place) in which the message is communicated.

Message - the information being communicated.

Addresser - the person delivering the message.

Addressee - the audience receiving the message.

Contact - the form through which the addresser and addressee communicate.

Code - a system of signs (a language) common to the addresser and addressee.

Functions of language:

Referential function: sharing information with an intended audience. (Example: "The weather is warm.")

Emotive function: expressing emotions and desires. (Example: "I love this song!")

Conative function: using language to direct or persuade. (Example: "Please pass the salt.")

Poetic function: focusing on the formation of the message itself. (Example: "The wind whispered through the trees.")

Phatic function: using language to establish or maintain social connections. (Example: "How are you?")

Metalinguistic function: describing or commenting on language itself. (Example: "What does 'happy' mean?")

MRS PT FACT?

• Mode - How the message is delivered (spoken, written, or online). Example: A conversation is spoken mode, while a text message is written mode.

• Register - How formal or informal language is. Example: Talking to a teacher is more formal than chatting with a friend.

• Situational context - The time, place, and situation of the communication. Example: You speak differently at a job interview than at a party.

• Purpose - Why the message is being communicated. Example: A speech might be to persuade, while an ad might be to sell something.

• Tenor - The relationship between the people communicating. Example: You talk differently to your boss than to your best friend.

• Function - What the message is trying to do. Example: A joke entertains, while instructions help someone understand a task.

• Audience - Who the message is meant for. Example: A kids’ book is written differently than a newspaper article.

• Cultural context - The values and traditions that affect language use. Example: Some slang is common in Australia but might not make sense elsewhere.

• Text type - The kind of communication used. Example: A news article, a novel, a speech, or a tweet all have different styles.

Phonetics and Phonology?

Phonetics and Phonology?

Connected speech process?

Assimilation - When a sound changes to become more like a nearby sound. Example: People often say "samwich" instead of "sandwich" because the "n" sound changes to match the "w."

Vowel Reduction - When vowel sounds become weaker or shorter, making speech more relaxed. Example: Instead of saying "banana" clearly, it may sound more like "benaneh."

Elision - When a sound or syllable is left out to make words easier to say. Example: Many people say "libry" instead of "library" or "choklet" instead of "chocolate."

Insertion - When an extra sound is added between words or letters to make speaking easier. Example: Some Australians say "ath-e-lete" instead of "athlete," adding a small extra vowel sound.

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a system of symbols that show how words sound. It helps people all over the world read and pronounce any language correctly.

The transcription of English, using the IPA, as described by Harrington, Cox & Evans (1997)

Transcribing English with the IPA means writing words the way they sound using special symbols. Harrington, Cox & Evans (1997) made a clear system to show how Australian English sounds. This helps students and linguists read and pronounce English accurately, without confusion.

Prosodic features?

are elements of speech regarding acoustics

• Pitch: How high or low a sound is. Example: Your voice goes higher when you're excited and lower when you're serious.

• Intonation: The way pitch changes in a sentence. Example: "You're coming?" sounds like a question because of rising intonation, but "You're coming." sounds like a statement with falling intonation.

• Stress: Emphasizing a word or syllable to change meaning. Example: "I really like this" sounds stronger than "I really like this."

• Tempo: How fast or slow someone speaks. Example: People talk faster when they're excited and slower when they're explaining something carefully.

• Volume: How loud or soft a voice is. Example: Yelling shows strong emotion, while whispering can mean secrecy.

Phonological patterning?

Phonological patterning is when writers or speakers play with sounds in words to make language more creative, memorable, or persuasive.

It includes six main features:

• Alliteration – repeating the same starting sounds (e.g. pretty practical pants).

• Assonance – repeating vowel sounds (e.g. fleet of jeeps).

• Consonance – repeating consonant sounds, often at the end (e.g. bees in the trees).

• Onomatopoeia – words that sound like the noise they describe (e.g. squawk, buzz).

• Rhythm – the beat or flow created by repeated patterns of sound.

• Rhyme – words ending with the same sounds (e.g. cake and fake).

Morphology?

Morphology?

What is morphology?

words and their p

The study of words and their parts is called morphology.

What are the two main types of morphemes?

Root morpheme: a single morpheme with a primary meaning. They can also combine with other morphemes, and stems words form

Free morpheme: a standalone lexeme (word) consisting of one or more morphemes.

   Sentence example: The So, "happy" is a free morpheme because it can stand alone as a word, and "happiness" is made by combining the root "happy" with other morphemes.

What are the three main types of affixes?

Prefix: an affix that occurs at the beginning of a root or stem. (prefix-)

• Un- in unhappy 

• Re- in redo 

Suffix: an affix that occurs at the end of a root or stem. (-suffix)

• -ed in walked 

• -ness in happiness 

Infix: is inside the root or stem (-infix-)

• Fan + -friggin- + tastic → Freaking fantastic
  (Infix: -friggin-)

• Un + -believable- + ly → Unbelievably
  (Infix: -believable-)

Inflectional Affixes VS Derivational Affixes

Inflection – affects the form or amount

• Adding -s to make a noun plural: cats (from cat)

• Adding -ed to indicate past tense: talked (from talk)

Deviational – affixes change meaning

• Dis- in dislike (meaning "not like")

• Un- in uncertain (meaning "not certain")

Morphological over-generalisation?

Morphological over‑generalisation happens when children apply grammar rules too widely, even when they don’t fit adult language.

• Examples: Saying “tooths” instead of “teeth” or “runned” instead of “ran”.

Why it matters: It shows how kids are learning language rules during the critical period of language acquisition, but haven’t yet mastered the exceptions.

Word formation processes/morphological patterning?

Affixation – Adding prefixes or suffixes to a word → happy → unhappy, teach → teacher

Abbreviation – Using the first letters or a shorter form of a word → approx. for approximately

Shortening – Cutting down a longer word → exam from examination

Compounding – Joining two words together → toothbrush, football

Blending – Mixing parts of two words → smog (smoke + fog), brunch (breakfast + lunch)

Backformation – Removing a part to make a new word → edit from editor

Conversion of word class – Changing a word’s role (noun → verb, etc.) → Google (noun) → to Google (verb)

Initialism – Saying each letter separately → BBC, FBI

Acronym – Letters form a new word you say as one → NASA, AIDS

Contraction – Shortening by leaving out letters → don’t (do not), I’m (I am)

Hypocoristic use of suffixes? in Australian English

Hypocoristics are shortened words with friendly endings like ‑o or ‑ie/‑y. They make speech sound more casual, approachable, and less formal.

• Examples: servo (service station), sunnies (sunglasses), Albo (Anthony Albanese), U‑ey (U‑turn).

Lexicology?

Lexicology?

What is lexicology?

word for and class

The study of word formation and classification is called lexicology.

What are nouns?

p,p,t,q,i or c

Nouns are words that name people, places, things, qualities, ideas, or concepts.

Types of Nouns:

Common Nouns: Generic names for general things, people, places(e.g., "beach," "apple", “teacher”).

Proper Nouns: Specific names of people, places, or organizations that are always capitalized (e.g., "Australia," "Saleh").

Collective Nouns: Words that refer to a group of people or things (e.g., "team," "flock").

Abstract Nouns: Names for things that are not tangible, such as feelings or qualities (e.g., "wisdom," "happiness").

Concrete Nouns: Nouns you can see, hear, touch, taste, or smell.(e.g., "car," "dog").

What are Verbs?

Verbs are ‘doing words’. Verbs offer information about actions, states and occurrences. Verbs are complex world class, and their state is affected by tense.

Types of Verbs

• Participles: Verb forms that can describe nouns (like adjectives) or help show time (tense). Example: “barking dog” – barking describes the dog.

• Infinitives: The base form of a verb with "to" (like to run). They can act like nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. Example: “I want to play.”

• Primary Auxiliary Verbs: Helper verbs that support the main verb to show tense. Examples: is, am, are, was, were, have, has.

• Modal Auxiliary Verbs: Special helpers that show possibility, ability, or need. Examples: can, will, should, must, might.

What are Adjectives?

They offer more information about a noun

What are adverbs?

Adverbs are words that give us extra information about actions, descriptions, or even whole sentences. They can tell us when, where, or how something happens, why it happens, how often, how much, or how sure we are.

For example, in “She sings beautifully,” the word beautifully is an adverb that tells us how she sings. Adverbs help make our sentences clearer and more interesting by adding detail.

Types of Adverbs?

• Interrogative Adverbs: Words that start a question. Examples: when, where, why, how

• Relative Adverbs: Words that connect parts of a sentence and give more detail. Examples: when, where, why

• Prepositions: Words that show time, place, or direction between things. Examples: in, on, under, before, after

Conjunctions (2 types coordinators/subordinators)

• Conjunctions: Words that join ideas or sentences together.

• Coordinators: Conjunctions that link ideas of equal importance. Examples: and, but, or

• Subordinators: Conjunctions that link ideas where one depends on the other. Examples: because, although, if

What are conjunctive adverbs, determiners and interjections?

• Conjunctive Adverbs: Words that connect ideas and show things like addition, contrast, cause and effect, or time. Examples: however, therefore, meanwhile, also

• Determiners: Words placed before nouns to show how many or who owns something. Examples: some, many, my, her, the

• Interjections: Short words or phrases that show feelings or help start or end a conversation. Examples: wow!, oh no!, hello!, goodbye!

Function words and Content words?

• Content words: These are the words that carry meaning in a sentence. They tell us what is happening or what things are.

  • Examples: nouns (dog, school), verbs (run, eat), adjectives (happy, tall), adverbs (quickly, loudly).

  • These belong to open classes, meaning we can keep creating new ones (like selfie or emoji).

• Function words: These are the “glue” words that hold sentences together. They don’t add meaning themselves but show relationships between content words.

  • Examples: pronouns (she, they), prepositions (in, on), conjunctions (and, but), determiners (the, a), auxiliary verbs (is, have), modal verbs (can, must).

  • These belong to closed classes, meaning we rarely add new ones.

Word formation processes?

Word formation is the way new words are created in a language.

• It can happen by adding parts like prefixes or suffixes, or by bringing in new words through borrowing, blending, or other processes.

Key types of lexical word formation:

• Borrowing – Taking words from other languages and making them part of English (sushi, smorgasbord, pen).

• Commonisation – Turning brand names or proper nouns into everyday words (hoover, kleenex, band-aid, google).

• Nominalisation – changing actions or descriptions into “things” (nouns). (run → running, scarce → scarcity, streaming, likes).

• Neologism – Completely new words that enter the language (selfie, emoji, podcast).

Word loss?

• Obsolescence – Words disappear when the thing they describe no longer exists.

  • Example: baselard (a type of dagger), brigadine (old armour).

• Archaism – Words mostly vanish but survive in old sayings or special contexts.

  • Example: kith (only used in “kith and kin” meaning friends and relatives).

Syntax

Syntax

What is Syntax?

w o and s s

The study of word order and sentence structure is called syntax.

What is the primary function of a phrase in language?

- A phrase is a group of words that functions as a single unit of meaning. Phrases are named after the word class of the primary (head)

Phrase: A group of words that work together to give one idea. (Not a full sentence, but still has meaning.)

Head Word: The most important word in the phrase — the one being described. (The rest of the words give more detail about it.)

Noun Phrase: A phrase where the head word is a noun. Example: “The very happy cat” → head word = “cat”

Types of phrase?

A phrase is a group of words that work together as one unit of meaning. It does not contain both a subject and a verb, so it cannot stand alone as a full sentence.

The type of phrase depends on the “head word” (the most important word in the phrase).

What is predicate, subject, complements and adverbials?

• Syntax: The rules for how we put words together to make sentences.

• Clause: A group of words with a subject and a predicate.

• Subject: Who or what the sentence is about. Example: “The dog” in “The dog barked.”

• Predicate: What the subject does or what happens. Example: “barked loudly” in “The dog barked loudly.”

• Object: The thing affected by the action.

  • Direct object: Gets the action. Example: “ball” in “She kicked the ball.”

  • Indirect object: Receives the direct object. Example: “friend” in “He gave his friend a gift.”

• Complement: Adds more detail about the subject or object. Example: “delicious” in “The soup smells delicious.”

• Adverbial: Tells us how, when, or where something happens. Example: “quickly” in “She ran quickly.”

Active and passive voice, including agentless passives

• Active Voice – The subject does the action.

  • Example: Frida threw the basketball. (Frida = subject, doing the action)

• Passive Voice – The subject receives the action.

  • Example: The basketball was thrown by Frida. (basketball = subject, receiving the action)

• Agentless Passive – A passive sentence where the “doer” (agent) is left out.

  • Example: The train was delayed. (no mention of who caused the delay)

  • Example: The vase was broken. (no mention of who broke it)

Syntactic patterning (PAL)

• Parallelism – Repeating the same grammatical structure to make writing rhythmic and memorable.

  • Example: Work hard, stay focused.

• Antithesis – Placing two opposite or contrasting ideas side by side to emphasise the difference.

  • Example: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

  • Example: One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.

• Listing – Presenting ideas or items in a series to add clarity, rhythm, or emphasis.

  • Example: I need to buy pies, cakes, hot dogs and sausage rolls.

Sentences

Sentences

What is a sentence?

A sentence is a group of words that makes sense and usually has a subject (who or what) and a verb (action or state).

We can look at sentences by what they mean (like asking, telling, or exclaiming). We can also study how the words are arranged to build the sentence.

Word Order modifiers in a noun phrase adverbials

• Word Order – The usual English order is Subject → Verb → Object.

  • Example: The dog chased the ball.

• Modifiers in a Noun Phrase – Extra words that describe or add detail to the noun.

  • Example: The small, fluffy cat sat on the mat. (small, fluffy modify cat)

• Adverbials – Words or phrases that give more information about the verb (how, when, where).

  • Example: She sang beautifully at the concert last night. (beautifully, at the concert, last night are adverbials)

Sentence Types

Sentence Structure types

Discourse and pragmatics

Discourse and pragmatics

Paralinguistic features

Paralinguistic features are the extra sounds and signals we use in speech that make it different from writing. They add meaning, emotion, and context to spoken language.

• Vocal effects – Sounds like whispers, laughter, coughing.

  • Example: whispering shows secrecy, laughter shows humour or friendliness.

• Non‑verbal communication – Body language and facial signals like gestures, eye contact, shrugging, rolling eyes.

  • Example: shrugging = “I don’t know”, eye contact = confidence or connection.

• Creakiness & breathiness – Voice qualities that change tone.

  • Example: breathiness can sound soft or intimate, creakiness/vocal fry can sound serious or authoritative.

Code switching

Code switching is when people switch between two or more languages in conversation.

Language Learning: Multilingual children often code switch while learning. It’s not confusion — it shows skill, because they use whichever language helps them best express their ideas.

Group Belonging: Code switching can show identity and solidarity. Using certain words or phrases from another language can signal membership in a cultural or social group.

• Helps speakers emphasise points or express emotions.

• Fills gaps when vocabulary is missing.

• Builds connection and belonging with a group.

• In classrooms, it helps both students and teachers explain and understand language more effectively.

Types of Code Switching

Types of Code Switching

• Inter‑sentential – Switching at the start or end of a sentence.

  • Example: Please pick up your clothes – I can’t stand ang gulo!

• Intra‑sentential – Switching in the middle of a sentence.

  • Example: I don’t understand; por qué no podemos comer ambos soft‑shell and hard‑shell tacos?

• Extra‑sentential (Tag Switching) – Adding a word or phrase from another language at the end.

  • Example: I can borrow your dress for the formal – es‑tu sûre?

Conventions for the transcription of spoken language

Factors that contribute to a text’s cohesion

Cohesion is the glue that makes a text clear and flow smoothly. It also shows group belonging when people use shared language patterns.

• Lexical choice – Picking words that fit the topic.

  • Synonymy: using words with similar meanings (choice, selection).

  • Antonymy: using opposites (hot vs cold).

  • Hyponymy/Hypernymy: using categories and subcategories (animal → cat → ragdoll).

• Collocation – Words that naturally go together (strong tea, not powerful tea).

• Information flow – Organising sentences to highlight important points.

  • Front focus: putting key info at the start (Potato cakes I like).

  • Clefting: restructuring to emphasise (It is potato cakes that I like).

  • End focus: saving key info for the end (I bought milk, eggs, bread and cheese).

• Reference – Linking ideas with pronouns or expressions.

  • Anaphoric: referring back (Pei left her coat. She forgot it.).

  • Cataphoric: referring forward (He promised to help… Sailor never broke his promises).

• Deictics – Words tied to context (this, that, here, now, yesterday).

• Repetition, substitution, ellipsis –

  • Repetition: repeating words for emphasis (book, books, bookish).

  • Substitution: replacing with alternatives (Daniel Andrews → the former premier).

  • Ellipsis: leaving words out when meaning is clear (Lauren went to school, then [she] went home).

• Conjunctions & adverbials – Linking ideas with words like and, but, because or time markers like firstly, finally.

Factors that contribute to a text's coherence

Textual coherence means a text is clear, logical, and easy to follow. It also shows group belonging because people share conventions and styles in how they structure texts.

• Cohesion – The “glue” that links words and sentences together (using repetition, reference, conjunctions).

• Inference – Readers use clues and context to work out meaning that isn’t directly stated (Gary looked guilty at the empty cookie jar → he probably ate the cookies).

• Logical ordering – Arranging ideas clearly, often by time (chronological), steps (sequential), or topics (categorical).

• Formatting – Visual organisation like headings, bullet points, spacing, and colours that guide the reader.

• Consistency and conventions –

  • Consistency: keeping style, punctuation, and terms the same throughout.

  • Conventions: following expected rules for text types (e.g. recipes, essays, citation styles).

Features of spoken discourse

Spoken discourse is everyday talk or conversation between people. It uses features like openings, responses, and markers to keep communication flowing and meaningful.

• Openings and closings – How conversations start (“Hi, how are you?”) and end (“Bye, see you later”). They build rapport and show politeness.

• Adjacency pairs – Linked turns in conversation, like a question → answer or greeting → greeting. Preferred responses (like accepting an invitation) are expected, while dispreferred ones (like rejecting) are softened with apologies.

• Minimal responses / backchannels – Short signals that show you’re listening, like “mm‑hmm”, “right”, or nodding. They keep the conversation flowing.

• Overlapping speech – When people talk at the same time. It can be friendly (showing agreement) or disruptive (talking over someone).

• Discourse markers / particles – Small words that organise speech, like “well”, “you know”, “like”, “anyway”, “so”. They guide the listener and show attitude.

• Non‑fluency features – Natural “rough edges” in speech:

  • Pauses – stopping briefly to think.

  • Filled pauses / hesitations – “um”, “uh”.

  • False starts – starting, stopping, and restarting.

  • Repetition – accidentally repeating words.

  • Repairs – correcting yourself or clarifying.

Strategies in spoken discourse

Spoken discourse strategies are the tools we use to keep conversations clear, fair, and connected.

• Topic management – How speakers handle the subject of conversation.

  • They can start a topic (“Guess what happened today…”), develop it with details, shift/change to another topic, loop back to something mentioned earlier, or end it when finished.

  • This is often called “managing the floor” — deciding who speaks and when.

• Turn‑taking – The way speakers share talking time.

  • Usually one person speaks at a time, then passes the turn.

  • Cues like pauses, intonation, or questions show when it’s someone else’s turn.

  • This keeps conversation orderly and prevents constant interruptions.

• Management of repair sequences – Fixing problems in conversation.

  • Self‑initiated self repair: speaker corrects themselves (“I got 68…oops, I mean 78”).

  • Self‑initiated other repair: speaker asks listener to help (“What score did I get again?”).

  • Other‑initiated self repair: listener points out a problem, speaker fixes it (“Did you say 68?” → “No, 78”).

  • Other‑initiated other repair: listener corrects directly (“You didn’t get 68, you got 78”).

• Code switching – Switching between languages in conversation.

  • It can show group membership, shared culture, or solidarity.

  • Example: “Have you been down to the ekklesia lately? The Easter celebrations are gonna be awesome!” (switching between English and Greek).

Politeness strategies

Politeness strategies help us avoid conflict, show respect, and build social harmony.

• Face – In conversation, “face” means how people want to be seen.

  • Positive face: wanting to be liked, respected, and seen as capable.

  • Negative face: wanting independence, privacy, and freedom from pressure.

• Face‑threatening acts (FTAs) – Things that risk hurting someone’s face.

  • Threats to positive face: “You’re not good at this” (hurts confidence).

  • Threats to negative face: “Tell me how much money you make” (invades privacy).

• Positive politeness – Strategies to build rapport and show friendliness.

  • Examples: giving compliments, using humour, showing interest, emphasising similarities, using inclusive language (“We all worked hard on this”).

• Negative politeness – Strategies to reduce pressure and show respect for autonomy.

  • Examples: hedging (“Could you maybe help?”), being indirect (“Is that the time?”), using low‑modality verbs (“Would it be possible…”), apologising (“Sorry to bother you”).

Semantics

Semantics

What is Semantics?

m in w,p,s and whole t

The study of meaning in words, phrases, sentences and whole texts is called semantics.

What is the relationship between the signifier and the signified in language?

Sentence example: The sounds "c-a-t" are conventionally associated with the concept of a small, furry domesticated animal.

The signifier is the word or sound itself ("c-a-t"), and the signified is the idea or the thing it stands for — in this case, the cute, furry animal called a cat.

The important thing is that there's no natural reason why "cat" is the word for that animal. People just agree that "c-a-t" means a cat. So, the connection between the sound ("c-a-t") and the animal (the concept) is arbitrary (meaning it's based on our choice) and conventional (we all agree on it).

Semantic domains and Inference?

Semantics Domains are groups of words or phrases with related meanings

Interference is the skill of determining implied information/meaning that is not overtly stated

Semantic over-generalisation?

Semantic over‑generalisation happens when children apply a word too broadly while learning language.

Etymology?

Etymology is the study of where words come from and how their meanings change over time. It helps us understand the history and development of language.

Semantic change

Words don’t just change in spelling or sound — their meanings can change too.

This happens in different ways

• Broadening – A word gains extra meanings.

• Example: viral now means both “linked to viruses” and “popular online.”

• Narrowing – A word’s meaning becomes more limited.

  • Example: meat once meant “any food,” now just “animal flesh.”

• Shift – A word’s meaning changes completely.

  • Example: awful once meant “inspiring wonder,” now means “very bad.”

• Elevation – A word’s meaning becomes more positive.

  • Example: sick in slang now means “excellent.”

• Deterioration – A word’s meaning becomes more negative.

  • Example: hussy once meant “housewife,” now has a negative meaning.

• Denotation vs Connotation –

  • Denotation = dictionary meaning (home = place to live).

  • Connotation = emotional/cultural meaning (home = cosy, safe).

Semantic patterning

Semantic patterning is how writers and speakers play with meaning to make texts more engaging, memorable, and expressive

Figurative language – Words used beyond their literal meaning to create vivid effects.

• Irony – Saying one thing but meaning the opposite (“Oh great, another test”).

• Metaphor – Comparing one idea to another without “like” or “as” (“Love is a battlefield”).

• Oxymoron – Combining opposites (“bittersweet”, “virtual reality”).

• Simile – Comparing using “like” or “as” (“She slept like a baby”).

• Hyperbole – Exaggeration for effect (“I’ve told you a thousand times”).

• Personification – Giving human qualities to non‑human things (“The old house groaned”).

• Animation – Making objects or ideas seem alive through movement or action.

• Puns – Wordplay using double meanings (“too tired” → “two‑tyred”).

• Lexical ambiguity – Words with more than one meaning (“bank” = river bank or money bank).

Lexical meaning, especially sense relations

Lexical meaning is about how words relate to each other and how they carry meaning in texts.

• Synonymy – Words with similar meanings (choice, selection, preference).

• Antonymy – Words with opposite meanings (hot vs cold).

• Hyponymy & Hypernymy – Categories and subcategories.

  • Cat is a hyponym of animal (hypernym).

  • Ragdoll is a hyponym of cat.

• Idiom – A phrase with a meaning different from its literal words (“kick the bucket” = die).

• Denotation – The dictionary meaning (home = place to live).

• Connotation – The emotional or cultural associations (home = cosy, safe).

Euphemism and dysphemism

Euphemism: A polite or softer way of saying something blunt or taboo (“pass away” instead of “die”).

Dysphemism: A harsher or more offensive way of saying something blunt or taboo (“worm food” instead of “dead”).