English Language flashcards

89 VCE English Language cards across 2 modules (31 definitions, 40 key facts, 18 fill-the-gap, 0 formulas). Each session gives you 20 cards, due cards first. Swipe right for easy, left for hard, down for again. Keyboard: Space to flip, 1 to 4 to rate.

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Definition
Coherence and cohesion in discourse in VCE English Language Unit 3
Define Coherence
Coherence is the overall sense a text makes: whether the ideas connect logically, follow expected conventions and match the reader's knowledge of the world. A text can be coherent with very few explicit links if it follows a familiar pattern or the context fills the gaps. Cohesion is narrower: it is the network of explicit grammatical and lexical ties that bind sentences and clauses. A text can be cohesive (full of linking words) yet still incoherent if the ideas do not actually connect, and it can be coherent with minimal cohesion.
Definition
Aboriginal English in VCE English Language Unit 4
Define Grammar
Some varieties use systematic markers that differ from the standard, such as particular uses of "been" to mark past or completed action ("We been go there") or distinctive pronoun and plural patterns. These are consistent grammatical rules of the variety.
Definition
Face needs and politeness theory in VCE English Language Unit 3
Define Positive face
Positive face is the desire to be liked, included, approved of and to have one's self-image affirmed. Compliments, agreement, in-group slang, inclusive address terms and shared jokes all attend to positive face. Negative face is the desire to be autonomous, unimpeded and free from imposition. Giving someone space, not demanding, and softening requests all attend to negative face.
Definition
Attitudes to language variation in VCE English Language Unit 4
Define Prescriptivism
Prescriptivism is the belief that there is a correct way to use language and that departures from Standard English are errors. Prescriptivists police "wrong" grammar, "lazy" pronunciation and "slang", and often frame language change as decline or decay. Descriptivism, the linguist's and VCE's stance, describes how language is actually used across contexts without ranking varieties. Importantly, you can describe and analyse prescriptivist attitudes without sharing them.
Definition
Features of formal language and Standard English in VCE English Language Unit 3
Define Morphology
Formal language uses full, standard word forms rather than clippings or hypocoristics. Standard inflections are observed. Latinate affixation produces longer, more abstract words ("utilisation", "implementation").
Definition
Australian English and national identity in VCE English Language Unit 4
Define Colloquialisms
Colloquialisms ("arvo", "reckon", "heaps", "no worries"), hypocoristics (the clipped-plus-suffix forms "barbie", "servo", "sunnies", "tradie") and homegrown idioms give the variety a distinctive flavour. Borrowings from Aboriginal languages ("kangaroo", "billabong", "yakka") and a tolerance for swearing in casual contexts are also widely felt to be characteristically Australian. Using these forms can perform and affirm national belonging.
Definition
Features of informal language across subsystems in VCE English Language Unit 3
Define Assimilation
Assimilation is where a sound shifts to resemble a neighbour ("handbag" produced as "hambag"). Elision drops a sound ("fish 'n' chips", "prob'ly"). Vowel reduction weakens unstressed vowels to a schwa. Informal speech also uses wider, more varied prosody: animated intonation, expressive stress and a faster, less careful tempo than a formal presentation. Onomatopoeia and vocal effects ("ugh", "pfft") are at home here too.
Definition
Ethnolects in Australian English in VCE English Language Unit 4
Define Constructing cultural identity
Ethnolectal features express belonging to a heritage culture and signal pride in that identity. They let a speaker foreground their cultural self.
Definition
Prosodic features of spoken language in VCE English Language Unit 3
Define Intonation
Intonation is the rise and fall of pitch across an utterance. A falling tone typically signals completion or certainty (statements, commands); a rising tone typically signals a question, uncertainty or that more is coming. High rising terminal (HRT), a rising tone on a statement, is a noted feature of some Australian and youth speech and can signal inclusiveness, checking for agreement, or tentativeness depending on context.
Definition
Language and individual and group identity in VCE English Language Unit 4
Define Age
Generational slang and discourse features mark age-group identity. Youth varieties innovate fast; older speakers may keep dated forms. Calling someone "based" or saying "no cap" indexes a younger identity.