Didn't do 1/2 English Language and 3/4 is confusing me

[something5678]

Hi guys,

I'm doing English Language 3/4 without having done 1/2 and I'm already confused. I've got a few questions, it would be fantastic if someone could help me out!

First, When a question tells you to 'refer to subsystems of language' what is actually meant by that?

Second, what so the subsystems of language do?

Third, E.g. what does it mean when 'anaphoric referencing' is categorised under 'discourse' and 'acronym' under morphology and lexicology?

Last, any suggestions for things that I could do that would help me to 'catch-up' on the relevant stuff learned in unit 1/2 that won't be covered again in 3/4?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! 

[boxcat]

first:
You can find definitions of the subsystems of language on pages 22 & 23 of the VCAA English Language Study Design.

second:
Read your textbook, then, if you still don't understand, ask your teacher, and do some further reading.

third:
from the New Oxford American Dictionary:

anaphora |əˈnaf(ə)rə|
noun
1 Grammar the use of a word referring to or replacing a word used earlier in a sentence, to avoid repetition, such as do in I like it and so do they.
2 Rhetoric the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.

DERIVATIVES
anaphoric |anəˈfɒrɪk| adjective
ORIGIN late 16th cent.: senses 1 and 2 via Latin from Greek, ‘repetition,’ from ana- ‘back’ + pherein ‘to bear.’

'Anaphoric referencing' is under discourse because it is one of the features which works to tie sentences and utterances together within a text.
e.g. (from Herald Sun/Galaxy Poll reveals airport rail link our top priority, retrieved 3rd March 2014)

Mr Morton said all options were ultimately hypothetical until the government committed to build one.
“We have to see the money on the table before we have any real debate on this
“It’s going to take more than one big project announcement to get things back on track; we’ve largely wasted the last three years not starting any projects,” he said.

'Mr Morton' is the Noun Phrase subject of the verb 'said', and 'he' at the end is a pronoun referring anaphorically back to 'Mr Morton'. In this way, the person referred to is linked across several sentences, which, in EngLang terms, would probably be called 'cohesion'.

'Acronym' is likely under the morphology subsystem because acronyms have to do with how a word is formed, the 'shape' of the word.
e.g. (from the same article)

The completion of the Metropolitan Ring Road was at the top of the RACV’s priority list.

The form of the word is made up from the initial letter of Royal Automobile Club of Victoria.

last:
Go and spend $10 on the 'Popular Penguin' paperback "How Language Works" by David Crystal (isbn 9780141037363), which Dymocks, and most good bookshops should have. Then read it, use the index to look up topics as you meet them, use the bibliography for further reading etc etc.

[something5678]

Thanks for the helpful reply! 

[chikedi]

I found this link on another  forum that someone  uploaded. > https://www.dropbox.com/sh/g9l7jgfpa9qu0pg/om5cq6utGj and it has a whole bunch of helpful stuff. If you go onto the vcaa website it has a list of metalanguage to learn, so if you make definitions of those it will be pretty easy.

[chikedi]

Subsystems are morphology, phonology, semantics, syntax, lexicology and i think discourse is one. So if it says to refer to a subsystem you would, for example, refer to the sentence structure in syntax.

[something5678]

Thanks for the help!