Context and Register

Situational Context

Participants (who is speaking and who is listening)

Relationship between participants

Setting/location

Mode (spoken, written, digital, etc.)

Purpose 

Mode

Method of communication like spoken, written, digital, etc.

Register Types

Highly informal, somewhat informal, somewhat formal, highly informal

Formal

A serious, structured, and impersonal type of communication done in accordance with the conventions of English language and suitable for official or important occasion.

Informal

A more casual, relaxed, friendly, unofficial, and personal type of communication with the grammatical structures, vocabulary, and idioms suitable for everyday language and conversation rather than official or formal contexts.

Values

Principles or standards of behaviour and/or one's judgement of what is important in life.

Mateship

Loyalty, trust, and support between friends and fellow people, often in tough times.

Fair go

The belief that everyone deserves equal opportunities and to be treated justly.

Egalitarianism

A cultural attitude that values equality and rejects rigid class distinctions.

Larrikinism 

A playful, rebellious spirit that challenges authority with humour.

Resilience

Endurance and strength in facing hardship, often linked to rural or outback life.

Community spirit

Helping others and working together, especially in times of need.

Respect for the Land

Valuing natural environments, shaped by both Indigenous and settler traditions.

Contemporary

Belonging to or occurring in the present.

Multiculturalism

Respecting and embracing cultural diversity as part of Australia’s national identity.

Reconciliation

Working toward recognition, justice, and healing in relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

Gender equality

The belief that people of all genders should have equal rights, opportunities, and representation.

Inclusivity

Ensuring that all people, regardless of background, identity, or ability, feel valued and accepted.

Environmental Sustainability

Protecting the natural environment for future generations through responsible action.

Social Justice

Promoting fairness and equity, particularly for disadvantaged or marginalised groups.

Global Citizenship

Recognising Australia’s role in the international community and valuing cooperation across nations.

Standard English

The variety of English that a community has determined to represent that community’s established variety of written and spoken English, and is formally codified in dictionaries and other official language.

Functions of English

The purpose of a message. Language has six functions: referential, emotive, conative, phatic, metalinguistic and poetic.

Register

Stylistic variation of language, defined by its use. It involves all features of language as well as levels of formality.

Tenor

• The relationships between the participants of a communicative exchange.
  or

• The general sense of a conversation, speech, or piece of writing.
  or

• The prevailing course of one's life or a period of time.
  or

• The overall mood or tone.

Phrasal Verbs

A verb combined with a preposition or adverb that creates a new meaning, different from the original verb

Register 1

Register with 

• very correct English 

• carefully chosen words 

• fairly complicated sentences

Register 2

Register with 

• correct English

• ordinary everyday words

• simple construction for sentences

Register 3

Register with 

• use of contractions (‘)

• no real interrogative word when asking a question

• simple words

• ‘fits everything’ words like ‘thing’ and ‘stuff’

Register 4

Register with 

• often incorrect English

• popular words and expressions

• shortcuts

• slang words

Colloquial language

A type of casual and relaxed informal language that is often location specific

Slang 

Newly formed words or phrases that are commonly found in very informal contexts. They can be playful by nature or even suggestive and crass. 

Taboo language

Language that is considered inappropriate or insulting by a large portion of society

Dysphemism

An inappropriate word or phrase that is intentionally used in place of a more neutral word, to intensify the impact of the utterance.

Phonological Patterns Examples

Alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia, rhythm and rhyme

Phonological

Relating to speech sounds that make up the fundamental components of a language.

Alliteration 

The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of next or closely connected words.

Assonance

Resemblance of sound between syllables of nearby words, arising particularly from the rhyming of two or more vowels, but not consonants alone but instead using identical consonants with different vowels.

Onomatopoeia

The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named

Morphological Patterning Examples 

Affixion, abbreviation, shortening, compounding, blending, conversion of word class, initialism, acronym, and contraction

Morphological

Related to forms of words

Affixion

The linguistic process of adding an affix (prefix or suffix) to a base word to change its meaning or grammatical function, usually using a derivational morpheme 

Abbreviation

A shortened form of a word or phrase

Compounding

The process of combining two or more words to create a new word with a distinct meaning

Blending

The process of combining two or more parts of different words to create a new word with a distinct meaning

Initialism

An abbreviation consisting of initial letters pronounced separately

Acronym

An abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word

Contraction

Shortened form of two or more words, where letters are omitted and replaced by an apostrophe (‘)

Semantic Patterns Examples 

Figurative speech, irony, metaphor, oxymoron, simile, hyperbole, personification, puns, lexical ambiguity

Figurative Speech

The use of words or phrases with a meaning that is different from the literal interpretation to create a more vivid or creative effect

Irony

When something happens when something else was expected to happen

or

the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.

Metaphor

A figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things to suggest a resemblance without using "like" or "as"

Simile

A figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind using the words “like” or “as”, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid

Hyperbole

Clearly exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally

Semantic

Relating to meaning in language

Personification

The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something non-human, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form

Puns

A joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words which sound alike but have different meanings

Lexical Ambiguity

When a word or phrase has multiple meanings, causing confusion because the intended meaning isn't clear from the context

Listing

A type of syntactic patterning where there is order

Parallelism

A type of syntactic patterning where two clauses or phrases having the same grammatical structure

Antithesis

A type of syntactic patterning which uses parallelism with two opposites or contrasts

Syntactic Patterning 

The repetition of specific sentence structures or grammatical forms to create emphasis, rhythm, or a particular effect in writing or speech

Phonological Patterns Purpose

This pattern type can add emphasis, make texts more memorable and engaging, express creativity and/or to entertain their audience.

Morphological Patterning Purpose

This pattern type can make speech or writing more efficient, particularly in written informal communication such as text messages between friends.

Semantic Patterns Purposes

This pattern type can create nuance or depth, often through expressing.

Syntactic Patterns

They can be used to add dramatic humour, make a statement seem more persuasive, emphasise a point, demonstrate shared knowledge and a close social distance.

Jargon

Technical or specialised language used within a specific field

Euphemism

Language that masks or mitigates a taboo or potentially offensive topic

Rhetoric

Informing, persuading and motivating a reader or listener into action that supports the viewpoint of the writer or speaker

Non-discriminatory language

Language that focuses on creating inclusivity and equality, by avoiding prejudice and stereotyping

Double Speak 

Language that purposely obscures or hinders meaning or intent

Metalanguage

Language explaining language

Honorific 

Title or word implying or expressing respect 

Interlocuters

Anyone speaking

Discourse

Study of how language is used in real communication to achieve social and communicative goals. It examines the rules, conventions, and structures that organize sequences of sentences (both written and spoken) into coherent texts and conversations, and how meaning is shaped by situational and cultural context.

or

Use of language to communicate in speech and writing

Pejorative

A word expressing contempt and disapproval

Stratification

Arrangement or classification of something into different groups

Phrasal Verb

A phrase consisting of a verb and another element, typically either an adverb or a preposition making a new verb with a new meaning