English Language 2020 quotes and language examples

[Bri MT]

English Language 2020 quotes and language examples


minmin114 suggested that we should have a thread for 2020 eng lang examples so this is the beginning of one. This thread will be as strong as the contributions to it; the more that people contribute, the greater it'll be as a resource for everyone. If you aren't sure whether a quote or example is relevant please share it anyway, no harm done if it is irrelevant and it could be a great help. So please if you see an example of language use that's new, interesting, or otherwise relevant to VCE English Language, share it here - even if you don't study eng lang.


Our first contribution is an article on how English has spread across the globe and influenced other languages - thanks MayaSuri77 for the great first post!


Link to the 2018 thread here. As you know, it's best to use recent examples (since the 2019 exam) but this will give you an idea of what to look for in examples and linguist quotes don't have to be recent

[interessant]

Something related to informality and the Australian identity, the use of the word ‘furphy’ in this editorial: https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/if-morrison-wants-climate-credibility-he-should-be-pushing-electric-vehicles-20200119-p53ss8.html
Not sure if this is very useful, but I used it in my essay

[anoushka_iyer]

https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/bridget-mckenzies-empty-chair-and-scott-morrisons-empty-suit-a-week-of-the-government-dodging-accountability/news-story/f38cf5f95bd50e0115517028ecfa7dd0

The 'Sports Rorts' scandal name is really interesting example of reduplication. The 'orts' in 'sports' is being repeated in 'rorts', creating a rhyming effect, which makes the phrase memorable, heightening the gravity of the scandal, thereby persuading the general Australian public to view the other political party in a unfavourable light. Also, 'rorts' is an Australian colloquialism for a 'dishonest act', so the use of this word appeals to Australian cultural values.

[EulerFan102]

An interesting article about 'Megxit', from the ABC recently (link here).
Some good quotes from it:

"ScoMo ... made our Prime Minister seem approachable, relatable — cuddly even, but not exactly prime ministerial."

"It's such a lazy, unfair and age-old misogynist trap: blame the woman for any perceived "bad" choices of the man, tempting him away from his bold and rightful duty and into a life of, whisper it salaciously, independence."

"There was a trend amongst some in the LGBTQI community to use portmanteaus to describe ourselves. For example, if I became an uncle, I'd use Guncle (gay uncle). It was pretty harmless until I heard it used to describe a gay Asian person as a Gaysian."

[interessant]

‘The US and @realDonaldTrump are great mates to Australia.’ - PM Scott Morrison, Twitter, February 2020.
Using the vocative ‘mates’ denotes the Australian values of egalitarianism and laidbackness, and also builds in-group membership with Trump and the US.

[interessant]

'Almond Milk. That's nuts' - Proud & Punch billboard advertisement, March 2020. Example of pun (play on words), when describing something as 'nuts', usually means amazing or crazy. Here 'nuts' has that meaning and as the advertisement is for almond milk, describing it as 'nuts' makes it more memorable, allowing the company to fulfil its purpose of catching attention.

'Don't settle for a quokka shit' - HBF Health Insurance ad, March 2020.

'Mate, I don't know' - Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese in reply to Five AA radio host David Penberthy when asked about Labor's voting habits, February 2020. By using the vocative mate, Albanese is eliminating the power disparity between himself and Penberthy, indicating that he is on the same social standing as other ordinary Australians. He is also reducing the social distance between himself and Penberthy.

‘I don’t hold a hose mate’ - Scott Morrison on 2GB speaking to John Stanley, describing his reason for taking a holiday in Hawaii during the bushfire season in Australia, December 2019. Reasons for using similar to previous example.

[vnice]

Wow I'm shocked there aren't any coronaquotes on here yet, here are some I've gathered Hopefully this thread will become more active in the coming months.

"COVID-19" - Is actually type of acronym formed through the condensing of "(Co)rona (Vi)rus (D)ecember 20(19). Which is a type of neologism, scientific/medical jargon that has recently been commonized to be incorporated into the everyday Australian lexis, used in synonymy with "Corona Virus".

"Coronacomics" - From this ABC article. This highlights the severity of the corona virus' impact on the Australian economy through utilising the morphological word formation process of blending.

"Social distancing" - An expression now very prevalent among the Australian public, has experienced a large semantic shift from meaning 'the societal distance between different individuals and groups in society' (linguistic/sociological definition) to  now 'A way to stop or slow the spread of infectious diseases'.

"Covidiot" - Another neologism created by blending covid-19 & idiot, recently adopted by the Australian public to describe 'someone who does not obey the warnings regarding public health or safety'.

"I remain optimistic that we don't have to go there" - Brett Sutton (chief health officer) regarding going into stage 4 of the virus. Intentionally remaining lexically ambiguous through the use of the dummy noun phrase 'there' is done intentionally as so to comment on stage 4 in general terms, thereby not causing unnecessary alarm among the Australian public about what this stage will entail. source

"From what I have read, the symptoms and RESULTS are not nearly as bad as measles, which is killing hundreds of thousands of children every year, thanks to anti-vaxxers and incompetent governments." - commenter on a Quora question thread regarding the media blowing the crisis out of proportion. The use of the lexically dense modifier "hundreds of thousands of children each year" helps to draw emphasis to the relative non-severity of the corona virus in comparison to measles. The comma used near the end of the sentence (before 'thanks to ... governments') helps to draw a distinct shift in tone that associates the problem to governments and anti-vaxxers. (honestly i'm not so sure about this last point in terms of metalanguage, please feel free to correct me here!  ) source

[Joseph41]

'Iso', 'boomer remover' and 'quarantini': how coronavirus is changing our language

Full article: https://theconversation.com/iso-boomer-remover-and-quarantini-how-coronavirus-is-changing-our-language-136729
Written by: Kate Burridge & Howie Manns

A great one for examples.

[ChiaraS]

Hi all,
I did englang in 2019, so I understand how hard it can be to find examples.
Here are some examples you guys can use this year

https://punkee.com.au/masterchef-andy-melissa-food-critiques/100309?fbclid=IwAR0fNs-8j5L6pikmi-V77XrmeUtPx3cOjk8bdB8XA2z1rafUwnmqoxzcefQ
-Melissa uses language to express her expertise in food. On the other hand, Andy is demonstrating his easy going Aussie identity

January 2020
Nick Kygio's - I am gonna have a frothy
-Expresses his Aussie identity

November 2019
Have you been paying attention
"Calombarising their employees"
-The conversion of the proper noun (name of famous chef) into a verb associated with underpaying employees

February 2020
3AW- The lexeme "pet" is politically incorrect as it demonstrates a power structure between human and animal rather than a companionship

Teenspeak
"JAFFY" - Just another fkn first year
"Simp"-"Simp is a slang insult for men who are seen as too attentive and submissive to women, especially out of a failed hope of winning some entitled sexual attention or activity from them" (dictionary.com)

There are a range of Aussie TV shows coming up for all to find examples;
Big Brother- a range of personalities who will use language to express their identity
Bachelor in paradise- not a show for everyone, however each year fans make up a range of slang terms relating to the show
Have you been paying attention- Lots of examples of interesting language use

Good luck !!

[Joseph41]

From Scott Morrison's LinkedIn (Sunday 31 May 2020). I think there's a lot to analyse here - what do people notice particularly?

[interessant]

'To help a kid like me, help a scientist like him' - The Kids' Cancer Project newspaper advertisement. There is parallelism present, as in the repetition of 'help a... like...' which aids the cohesion of the advertisement and draws the attention of the reader.

[jrbennett]

Police On NSW/VIC Border Quiz Motorists By Asking Them To Identify Deep Fried Potatoes.
- regional variation
https://www.betootaadvocate.com/headlines/police-on-nsw-vic-border-quiz-motorists-by-asking-them-to-identify-deep-fried-potatoes/

[AngelWings]

Do Not Visit Victoria advertising campaign: here - from Sydney Morning Herald (note: includes swearing)
Update (3rd August):
- Something rather interesting to watch is the language that Dan Andrews uses in the Statement from the Premier (Stage 4 restrictions for businesses) here.
- "What's in a name?..." from The Conversation - here

[EshaanM1973]

Hey everyone, I found a website with good examples for Australian Identity:
https://punkee.com.au/
Hope this helps!
 

[Joseph41]

How do you pronounce emu? That depends on who you ask
- Danielle Maguire, ABC News, 26 August 2020

Read article here.

Any quotes/examples in particular stand out to people here?