English Language 2021 language examples

[EulerFan102]

2021 ENGLANG EXAMPLE BANK

Hey all,
Just wanted to kickstart the collection of 2021 language examples for EngLang essays.
(if you're not aware, VCAA requires you to use a bunch of contemporary examples of language use in Australia in your essays, and by contemporary they mean from 2021).


Some examples to kick off with:

Diversity of language in Australia (link)
After a possible COVID outbreak in the multicultural Sydney suburb of Berala, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard says "a whole range of efforts" are communicating health messaging to multicultural communities, including local community radio stations, written advice and social media in a number of different languages.
Relates to:

• role of different languages in Australia
• prestigious high-status organisation (government) choosing to not use Standard Australian English

Political correctness (link)
A discussion about acting Australian Prime Minister Michael McCormack using the phrase "all lives matter", a phrase which, according to the article, can "dismiss, ignore, or deny" racism.

Use of Australian colloquialism (link)
After the death of swimming coach Harry Gallagher, swimmer Dawn Fraser said "He was fair dinkum, a true Aussie"
Relates to:

• expressing Australian identity through language

[EulerFan102]

There was a nice article in The Economist on Monday entitled "From doomscrolling to zombie-boxes: a guide to screen-time slang" (link), which has a bunch of nice contemporary examples.
Some quotes:
"Today more than half of humanity has access to the internet, up from a quarter of people in 2009. With so many of us online, a new lexicon has emerged to describe our on-screen lives."
"The internet is ever evolving, and phrases quickly become outdated."
"Have you been “doomscrolling”? The word describes a compulsion to read negative news online."

[EulerFan102]

Here's a great article from the ABC: Samoan slang enters Australian mainstream, fuels interest in Polynesian culture, language (28 Jan 21)

So many great quotes from the article, here's a few of them:
"Australian series Bump mirrors contemporary youth culture and the Samoan slang term "uce" is centre stage"
"The term "uce", coined by the Samoan diaspora in New Zealand and the US, is growing in Australian usage"
Quoting Lefaoali'i Dion Enari: "I think it's extremely important to see our languages, our slang and ourselves in the mainstream fabric because it's empowering ... It makes you feel accepted, it makes you feel you belong, it makes you feel you have a place in Australian society."

[wingdings2791]

Hello, I've saved quite a few articles too:

Mostly informal
Entertainment/context/in-group membership: Melbourne’s Gentoo Penguins Zeus And Roger Have Hatched The Cutest Little Pingu Bebes
Discourse strategies/entertainment: We need to talk: the linguistic clues that reveal your relationship is over

Mostly formal
Coherence/cohesion/informative: Problematic Words 2021
Manipulation/face needs/identity: Jenny Mikakos Twitter statement
Persuasion/in-group membership: Timeout: Things to do in Melbourne in January

[EulerFan102]

A great article on politically correct and inclusive language from The Age yesterday (link here). Some nice quotes:
"The Victorian government has become the country’s largest employer to include the term “chestfeeding” in a workplace agreement as part of a broader push to use gender-inclusive language."
Megan Wenlock of the Community and Public Sector Union: "I came across the term chestfeeding and how it was an inclusive term for trans men and non-binary individuals who may chestfeed their children ... We wanted to make sure the language was inclusive and removed gender biases."

[Joseph41]

This interview with Kate Burridge is from 2020, but I'm just seeing it for the first time. Some interesting stuff that might of interest to some people here:

[EulerFan102]

A bunch of great articles have come out over the past little while:

"Australian English isn’t being taken over by Americanisms. But it is changing" in The Age (31 July)
"Broad or posh, we still sound uniquely Australian. Where did our accent come from?" in The Age (22 August)
"Yeah, nah: Aussie slang hasn’t carked it, but we do want to know more about it" in The Conversation (12 August)
"Blak, Black, Blackfulla: Language is important, but it can be tricky" in The Age (30 August)

[Harrycc3000]

A bunch of great articles have come out over the past little while:

"Australian English isn’t being taken over by Americanisms. But it is changing" in The Age (31 July)
"Broad or posh, we still sound uniquely Australian. Where did our accent come from?" in The Age (22 August)
"Yeah, nah: Aussie slang hasn’t carked it, but we do want to know more about it" in The Conversation (12 August)
"Blak, Black, Blackfulla: Language is important, but it can be tricky" in The Age (30 August)

Thank you for posting on this thread so much! These are so useful

[wingdings2791]

A few good ones:

Spoken
Discourse/inference/context: Labor MP Julian Hill on Scott Morrison
Obfuscation/euphemism: NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian: 'Absolutely potentially'
Phonological patterning: Liberal MP Michael O'Brien: 'Reconsider or resign'

Written
Political correctness/social harmony: ‘You go woke, you go broke’: The Wiggles slammed over new line-up
Discourse/context/entertainment: Kiss off: does Covid mark the end of the passionate, impromptu snog?
Profanity and taboo/Australian identity: How Fucking Good Is The Filthy Swearing In ‘Drag Race Down Under’?
Face needs/context/entertainment: A Victorian won the $80 million Powerball lottery and the state is trying really hard to be happy for them
Australian identity: Dawn Fraser mourns 'fair dinkum' swimming icon who discovered her at 14
Coherence/establishing expertise/context: The next pandemic? It may already be upon us
Entertainment/cultural context: Aisle bop if I want to: the guilty pleasure of supermarket radio
Cultural/situational context/manipulation and obfuscation: Afghanistan's cricket board signals Taliban backtrack on women’s cricket ban