Ealam2's Question Thread on Eng Lang

[ealam2]

Hi Eng Lang people!  I decided to make another one of those question threads since I most likely will have questions throughout the year and will appreciate help from anyone. Thanks all in advance!

1. So could someone help me out with rewriting the following non-standard text into Standard English? I'm having difficulty with this let alone understanding it.

Introduction to Ginger Mick
Jist to intraj'uice me cobber, an 'is name is Ginger Mick - A rorty boy, a naughty boy, wiv rude impressions thick In 'is casu'l conversation, an' the wicked sort o' face That gives the sudden shudders to the lor-abidin' race.
'Is name is on the records at the Melbourne City Court, Fer doin' things an' sayin' things no reel nice feller ort; An 'is name is on the records uv the Army, over there, Fer doin' things - same sort o' things that rose the Bench's 'air.
They never rung no joy-bells when 'e made 'is first de- boo; But 'e got free edjication, w'ich they fondly shoved 'im thro'; Then turned 'im loose in Spadger's Lane to 'ang around the street An' 'elp the cop to re-erlize the 'ardness uv 'is beat.


Chapter One Verse
Now, when a bloke 'e cracks a bloke fer insults to a skirt,
   An' wrecks a joint to square a lady's name,
 They used to call it chivalry, but now they calls it dirt,
   An' the end of it is cops an' quod an' shame.
Fer insults to fair Gwendoline they 'ad to be wiped out;
But Rosie's sort is jist fair game-when Ginger ain't about.

2. Can informal language be standard and can formal language be non-standard? Provide examples to support your position.
I answered yes for this but I am having difficulty with coming up with some examples. Any would be appreciated, thanks!

3. Has anyone read George Orwell's Politics and the English Language essay? Could someone please kindly explain what he is talking about?
I only have a sense of what he is saying that language is important for our liberty and that without language we can be controlled by others. Can someone please elaborate on this? Thank you. 

[ealam2]

Another question: What does it mean when we are asked to write what the context of a text is? Could someone please explain with examples? Thanks!

[ealam2]

Could someone help me please? Thank you!

[MrsNicoleB]

Context:
'Funky Field Mice Sit and Relax' (FFMSR)

Function (communicative and social purposes of the text), Field (topic), Mode (spoken, written, signed), setting (where), Relationship between participants.

[ealam2]

Thank you, MrsNicoleB!

Other 2014 Eng Lang students are also welcome to post any questions they have in this thread.

[ealam2]

Is 'social inclusion' the same as 'social solidarity'?
And is 'social exclusion' the same as 'social distance'?

Also what is the difference between 'high rising terminal' and 'high rising intonation'?

And is 'self-correction' essentially the same as 'speech repair'? I notice a lot of spoken language terms have double-ups or other similar terms like 'hesitation' and 'filled pauses'.

I've also come across this term 'back-channeling' but I forgot what it meant. Could someone please explain it to me?

Thanks!

[MrsNicoleB]

Social inclusion and social exclusion are not terms which we really use in 3/4.  They area more basic concepts to discuss how you can include / exclude people with the language you choose e.g. code switching between languages, use of jargon.

Solidarity = generally how much you have in common with someone (gender, age, hobbies etc).  I can show solidarity by discussing EL with you, agreeing with you, showing an interest in what you do, using the same language as you (slang etc). 

Social distance = your power in relation to the other person.  e.g. you might have the same interests and gender as your EL teacher, but your teacher is in a position of power, so will always be somewhat socially distant from you.  Imagine a continuum - your best friend is the closest in social distance, then your principal, then the queen is the furthest away (nothing in common, she has a lot of power). You can mark social distance by using address forms such as 'sir', using slang with your principal etc.

Self-correction - I would assume is the same as repair.  Stick with repair - it's in the Study Design.

Backchanneling is the same as minimal response.
Minimal response / backchannel signals:
e.g. mm, uh-huh, oh, yeah, right
o   Speaker extends the other person’s turn by not taking the floor
o   Contribute to the story by indicating they’re listening and egging on the speaker with facial expressions, nods and smiles, laughter and encouraging noises
o   Can encourage the other speaker to carry on and indicates, if not agreement, at least no objection, to what they are saying.
o   INTERPRETATION DEPENDS ON THE CONTEXT
o   Repeated use of minimal responses hmm can indicate impatience and a desire to take the floor
o   Lack of response or delayed response = lack of interest in the topic?  Disagreement?  Nothing to say?

[ealam2]

Social inclusion and social exclusion are not terms which we really use in 3/4.  They area more basic concepts to discuss how you can include / exclude people with the language you choose e.g. code switching between languages, use of jargon.

Solidarity = generally how much you have in common with someone (gender, age, hobbies etc).  I can show solidarity by discussing EL with you, agreeing with you, showing an interest in what you do, using the same language as you (slang etc). 

Social distance = your power in relation to the other person.  e.g. you might have the same interests and gender as your EL teacher, but your teacher is in a position of power, so will always be somewhat socially distant from you.  Imagine a continuum - your best friend is the closest in social distance, then your principal, then the queen is the furthest away (nothing in common, she has a lot of power). You can mark social distance by using address forms such as 'sir', using slang with your principal etc.

Self-correction - I would assume is the same as repair.  Stick with repair - it's in the Study Design.

Backchanneling is the same as minimal response.
Minimal response / backchannel signals:
e.g. mm, uh-huh, oh, yeah, right
o   Speaker extends the other person’s turn by not taking the floor
o   Contribute to the story by indicating they’re listening and egging on the speaker with facial expressions, nods and smiles, laughter and encouraging noises
o   Can encourage the other speaker to carry on and indicates, if not agreement, at least no objection, to what they are saying.
o   INTERPRETATION DEPENDS ON THE CONTEXT
o   Repeated use of minimal responses hmm can indicate impatience and a desire to take the floor
o   Lack of response or delayed response = lack of interest in the topic?  Disagreement?  Nothing to say?

Okay thank you very much! That was helpful. Just one thing though: I read somewhere that minimal responses are the noises like "mmm" and "ah" a listener makes while backchanneling are the words a listener says like "yeah". Would this be right?

[MrsNicoleB]

Minimal responses and backchanneling are exactly the same thing, and can be verbal or non-verbal (nods etc).  'Minimal responses' is the term in the Study Design.

[ealam2]

Thank you, MrsNicoleB! 

Is relative clause the same as adjectival clause?

[MrsNicoleB]

Yes, that's right 
See here:
http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/relativeclause.htm

[ealam2]

Thank you!