VCE English Language cheat sheet

Subsystems of language: phonetics/phonology (sound), morphology (word structure), lexicology (vocabulary), syntax (sentence structure), semantics (meaning), discourse (extended text).

Phoneme: smallest unit of sound that distinguishes meaning (e.g. /p/ vs /b/ in 'pat'/'bat'); allophone: variant pronunciation of the same phoneme that does not change meaning.

Morpheme: smallest unit of meaning; free morphemes stand alone ('dog'), bound morphemes attach ('-s', 'un-'); inflectional morphemes change grammar, derivational morphemes create new words.

Word classes: open (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs) accept new members; closed (prepositions, conjunctions, determiners, pronouns) rarely do.

Syntax: a phrase has a head word; a clause contains a subject and finite verb; a sentence contains at least one clause.

Semantic relations: synonymy (similar meaning), antonymy (opposite), hyponymy (category membership), polysemy (one form, related senses), homonymy (unrelated senses).

Discourse features: cohesion (lexical and grammatical links such as reference, ellipsis, conjunction) versus coherence (logical unity of meaning for the reader).

Register variables: field (topic), tenor (relationship between participants), mode (spoken/written, channel); these shape lexical and syntactic choices.

Language change drivers: invasion and migration, trade, technology, social movements, contact between languages, and generational innovation.

Borrowing: English loans heavily from Latin, French, Greek and Norse; loanwords often fill lexical gaps or carry prestige (e.g. 'cuisine', 'sushi').

Semantic change types: broadening (generalisation), narrowing (specialisation), amelioration (meaning improves), pejoration (meaning worsens), metaphor and euphemism.

Lexical change: new words via compounding, blending, affixation, acronyms, initialisms, clipping, conversion (word-class shift) and borrowing.

Phonological change: sound shifts such as the Great Vowel Shift altered pronunciation; spelling often preserves older forms, creating irregular spelling-meaning links.

Syntactic change: English shifted from inflection-rich (Old English) to relatively analytic word order; loss of case endings increased reliance on syntax.

Standardisation: printing, dictionaries and education promote a standard variety; prescriptivism contrasts with descriptivism, which records usage rather than judging it.

Attitudes to change: neologisms and slang often attract criticism; linguistic evidence shows change is systematic, not decay.

Variation axes: regional (geography), social (class, age, gender, ethnicity), and situational (formality, audience, purpose).

Idiolect: an individual's unique language use; sociolect: a variety associated with a social group; dialect: a regional or social variety with distinctive lexis, grammar and phonology.

Accent versus dialect: accent concerns pronunciation only; dialect includes lexis and grammar as well as pronunciation.

Standard English is a prestige variety used in formal institutions; it is not inherently more logical or correct than other varieties.

Overt prestige: status attached to standard or powerful varieties; covert prestige: value attached to vernacular varieties as markers of solidarity and identity.

Politeness theory: positive face (desire to be liked) and negative face (desire not to be imposed on); face-threatening acts are softened with hedges, indirectness or deference.

Register and style shift according to audience and purpose; convergence (moving toward interlocutor's speech) and divergence (moving away) signal affiliation or distance.

Language and identity: code-switching, slang and jargon mark group membership; jargon is specialised lexis for an in-group, slang is informal and often short-lived.

Text types carry conventions: news reports prioritise headline, lead and inverted-pyramid structure; opinion pieces use evaluative lexis and direct address.

Cohesion devices: lexical repetition, synonym chains, referencing (anaphora/cataphora), substitution, ellipsis and conjunctions create textual links.

Coherence depends on shared knowledge, logical sequencing and appropriate register, not only on explicit connectives.

Persuasive strategies: appeals to ethos (credibility), pathos (emotion) and logos (logic); rhetorical devices include rhetorical questions, triads, repetition, hyperbole and inclusive pronouns.

Nominalisation (turning verbs into nouns) increases density and formality and can obscure agency; passive voice can background the actor.

Spoken discourse features: turn-taking, adjacency pairs, backchannels, fillers, repairs and discourse markers signal interaction management.

Language and power: euphemism, doublespeak and jargon can obscure meaning; inclusive language avoids marking groups as deviant from a default.

Analytical method: identify feature, quote evidence, name the metalanguage, then explain the effect on the intended audience and purpose.