ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Units 1 & 2 (Year 11)

Unit 1: Language and Communication

• The nature and functions of language

• Modes of language (spoken, written, and sign)

• The properties of human language (arbitrariness, displacement, productivity, cultural transmission)

• Metalanguage

• Phonetics and phonology

  • Speech sounds and articulation

  • IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet)

  • Prosodic features (pitch, stress, volume, tempo, intonation)

• Morphology and lexicology

  • Morphemes (free vs bound)

  • Word classes (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc.)

  • Affixation (prefixes, suffixes, infixes)

  • Neologisms and word formation processes (blends, acronyms, initialisms, etc.)

• Syntax

  • Sentence structures (simple, compound, complex, compound-complex)

  • Sentence types (declarative, interrogative, imperative, exclamative)

  • Clause types and syntactic structures

• Semantics

  • Meaning, sense relations (synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy)

  • Semantic fields and lexical choice

  • Semantic change (broadening, narrowing, shift, deterioration, amelioration)

• Pragmatics and discourse

  • Context and inference

  • Coherence and cohesion (anaphoric and cataphoric referencing, repetition, ellipsis, substitution, conjunctions, logical ordering)

  • Register and situational context (field, mode, setting, function, relationships between participants)

Unit 2: Language Change

• Historical development of English

  • Old English, Middle English, Modern English

  • Influences on English (Latin, French, Germanic roots)

• Language change over time

  • Phonological, morphological, syntactic, and semantic change

• Global spread of English

  • World Englishes (Inner Circle, Outer Circle, Expanding Circle)

  • Pidgins, creoles, and standardisation

• Linguistic relativity and determinism

• Attitudes to language change (prescriptivism vs descriptivism)

Units 3 & 4 (Year 12)

Unit 3: Language Variation and Identity

• Australian English

  • Features distinguishing Australian English from other varieties

  • Influence of Indigenous languages and multiculturalism

• Phonological variation in Australian English (Broad, General, Cultivated)

• Sociolinguistics and identity

  • Ethnolects, sociolects, and idiolects

  • Language and gender, occupation, and social class

• Standard and non-standard language

  • Formality, prestige varieties, and linguistic discrimination

• Language and social purpose

  • Functions of language in different contexts

  • The role of informal and formal language

  • Slang, jargon, colloquialisms, euphemisms, dysphemisms

• Australian national identity in language

  • Accent, vocabulary, and cultural references

Unit 4: Language Variation and Social Purpose

• Formal and informal language

  • Features of spoken and written discourse

  • Context and function in communication

• Public language

  • Political correctness, doublespeak, jargon

  • Euphemisms, obfuscation, manipulation

• Language and social attitudes

  • Linguistic relativity and social change

  • Language and power dynamics

• Codification and prescription in English

  • The role of dictionaries, grammars, and style guides

• Ethical and inclusive language

  • Gender-neutral language

  • Censorship and taboo language