Metalanguage for Australian Varieties of English

In VCE English Language, understanding the metalanguage used to describe the variation within Australian English is essential for analysing how identity, culture, and social attitudes are reflected in language. Australia is not linguistically uniform; it consists of a range of varieties that exist alongside Standard Australian English (SAE).

1. Defining Australian Englishes

The term Australian Englishes is an umbrella term referring to the distinct varieties of English used within Australia. These varieties are shaped by history, geography, ethnicity, and social group membership.

Key Definitions:

• Standard Australian English (SAE): The variety of English that is considered the “norm” in Australia. It is the variety used in formal education, the legal system, government, and mainstream media. It is highly codified (found in dictionaries like the Macquarie Dictionary) and carries overt prestige.
• Non-Standard Varieties: Varieties that differ from the codified rules of SAE. These are often used to signal covert prestige and group belonging.
• Varieties: Sub-types of a language (dialects, ethnolects, sociolects) that have distinct features in phonology, lexis, morphology, and syntax.

VCAA FOCUS: When discussing SAE, always mention its role as a “yardstick” for prestige and its function in institutional settings. Avoid calling it “correct” English; instead, use terms like “socially dominant” or “codified.”

2. The Australian Accent Continuum

The Australian accent is often categorised into three distinct points on a continuum, as first classified by Mitchell and Delbridge (1965). These are defined primarily by phonological features, specifically the pronunciation of vowels and diphthongs.

Phonological Variation

The variation across the continuum is often measured by the “openness” of vowels. For example, the diphthong in “high” /aɪ/:
* Cultivated: Closer to $[aɪ]$
* Broad: Closer to $[ɒɪ]$ (more rounded and elongated)

EXAM TIP: Do not assume a speaker’s intelligence based on their accent. In your analysis, focus on the identity the speaker is constructing (e.g., a politician using a Broad accent to appear “down-to-earth” or “of the people”).

3. Ethnolects and Migrant Varieties

A migrant ethnolect is a variety of English used by a specific ethnic group or community, often incorporating features from their heritage language (L1) into English (L2).

• Substrate Influence: When the linguistic patterns (phonology, syntax) of a heritage language influence the way English is spoken.
• Multiethnolect: A variety that emerges in diverse urban areas where speakers from many different ethnic backgrounds share linguistic features (e.g., “Western Sydney English”).

Features of Ethnolects:

1. Phonological: Different stress patterns or vowel qualities (e.g., the “Lebanese-Australian” /e/ sound).
2. Lexical: Using words from a heritage language (e.g., yalla, habibi, nonna).
3. Syntactic: Omission of auxiliary verbs or different prepositional use (e.g., “I go school” instead of “I am going to school”).

KEY TAKEAWAY: Ethnolects are not “failed English.” They are functional varieties used to express a dual identity—balancing Australian identity with a specific cultural heritage.

4. Aboriginal Australian Englishes (AAE)

Aboriginal Australian Englishes is an umbrella term for the range of varieties of English spoken by Indigenous Australians. It exists on a continuum from varieties very close to SAE to those closer to Kriol (a distinct language).

Key Features of AAE:

• Phonological: Tendency to avoid initial “h” sounds (H-dropping) or replacing “th” /θ/ with /f/ or /t/.
• Lexical: Use of specific terms like deadly (excellent), mob (family/community group), or shame (embarrassed).
• Syntactic: Use of the “invariant be” or different pronoun systems (e.g., “we-mob”).
• Pragmatic: Different rules for eye contact, silence, and “indirectness” in questioning.

REMEMBER: AAE is a powerful marker of Aboriginal identity and “belonging.” It is a rule-governed and complex dialect, not a “broken” form of Standard English.

5. Morphological Features: Hypocoristics

One of the most distinctive features of Australian English across all varieties is the use of hypocoristics (diminutives). This involves shortening a word and adding a suffix.

Common Suffixes:

• -ie / -y: barbie (barbecue), bickie (biscuit), postie (postman).
• -o: arvo (afternoon), servo (service station), smoko (smoke break).
• -a: cuppa (cup of tea), macker (Macca’s/McDonald’s).

Social Function: These suffixes reduce the social distance between speakers, creating a sense of informality, friendliness, and “egalitarianism.”

APPLICATION: In an analytical commentary, if you see hypocoristics, link them to the Social Purpose of establishing rapport or reinforcing a relaxed, “Australian” persona.

6. Attitudes Towards Variation

How Australians perceive different varieties is shaped by two main ideological stances:

1. Prescriptivism: The belief that there is a “correct” or “superior” way to speak (usually SAE) and that other varieties are “lazy” or “incorrect.”
2. Descriptivism: An approach that describes how language is actually used without making value judgements. Descriptivists view all varieties as equally valid systems of communication.

Prestige Types:

• Overt Prestige: Status attached to a variety that is publicly recognised as “high status” (SAE).
• Covert Prestige: Status attached to non-standard varieties within specific social groups. Speaking with a Broad accent or using an ethnolect can grant a speaker “street cred” or signal loyalty to a community.

COMMON MISTAKE: Students often describe prescriptivist views as “the right way to think.” In VCE English Language, you must remain objective. Describe why someone might hold a prescriptivist view (e.g., maintaining clarity or tradition) and why a descriptivist view is linguistically accurate.

7. Summary of Metalanguage for Exams

STUDY HINT: Create a “Metalanguage Bank” for each variety. For example, under “AAE,” list: invariant be, lexical borrowing, pragmatic silence, and identity marker. This will help you quickly identify features in a text.