VIC · VCAAQ&A
English LanguageQ&A by dot point
A short Q&A bank for every VIC English Language syllabus dot point. Each question and answer is drawn directly from our worked dot-point page, so you can scan key concepts before opening the long-form answer.
Unit 3: Language variation and social purpose
- the features of discourse that create coherence and cohesion, including reference, conjunction, lexical chains and conversational conventions2Q&A pairs
- the concepts of positive and negative face, face-threatening acts and politeness strategies in informal and formal contexts2Q&A pairs
- features of formal language across the subsystems, and the role of Standard English as a prestige variety6Q&A pairs
- features of informal language at the phonological, morphological, lexical, syntactic and discourse levels2Q&A pairs
- prosodic features including stress, intonation, pitch, tempo, volume and pause, and their role in spoken texts3Q&A pairs
- how formal language can clarify, manipulate, obfuscate and persuade, including through jargon, euphemism, nominalisation and doublespeak2Q&A pairs
- the concept of register and how situational and social context shape the formality of a text along a continuum0Q&A pairs
- the social purposes and contexts of formal language, including reinforcing authority, expertise, social distance and politeness0Q&A pairs
- the social purposes and contexts of informal language, including the functions of encouraging intimacy, solidarity and equality0Q&A pairs
- the metalanguage needed to discuss language across the subsystems of phonetics, phonology, morphology, lexicology, syntax, discourse and semantics5Q&A pairs
Unit 4: Language variation and identity
- the features and functions of Aboriginal English as a systematic variety that constructs and maintains Indigenous identity6Q&A pairs
- public attitudes towards language variation, including prescriptivism, linguistic prejudice and the social consequences for speakers1Q&A pairs
- how Australian English reflects and shapes national identity through its distinctive lexicon, accent and cultural values1Q&A pairs
- the features and functions of ethnolects in Australian English, including transfer, borrowing and the construction of cultural identity1Q&A pairs
- how language is used to construct individual and group identities, including identities of region, age, gender, occupation and culture7Q&A pairs
- how language is used to build and maintain social cohesion and to mark group membership through in-group features1Q&A pairs
- the role of political correctness, inclusive language, taboo and euphemism in reflecting and shaping social attitudes and identity3Q&A pairs
- the distinction between Standard and non-standard Australian English, including overt and covert prestige and the social meanings of each2Q&A pairs
- the features and functions of teen speak, including slang, innovation and the construction of youth identity and solidarity2Q&A pairs
- the varieties of English used in contemporary Australian society, including Aboriginal English, ethnolects and migrant varieties3Q&A pairs