Unit 1: Language and Communication - Nature, Function and Variation
Core concepts
Unit 1 asks you to describe language as a system and as social behaviour. You must be able to name and apply: the subsystems (phonetics and phonology, morphology, lexicology, syntax, semantics, discourse), the functions of language (referential, emotive, conative, phatic, metalinguistic, poetic), and the idea that meaning is context-dependent. You also need the metalanguage of register, tenor, field, mode, and the distinction between Standard Australian English and non-standard varieties.
What examiners test
Questions reward precise metalanguage attached to evidence. A claim such as "the text is informal" earns little; "the high frequency of elision ('gonna', 'kinda') and second-person pronouns constructs a close tenor" earns full marks. Learn to identify a feature, name it, quote it, and explain its effect.
Common traps
- Confusing phonetics (physical sounds) with phonology (sound systems and rules).
- Treating prescriptivism as analysis. Judging a variety as "lazy" or "incorrect" is not linguistic analysis; describe it systematically.
- Confusing accent (pronunciation) with dialect (vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation together).
- Confusing jargon (specialist terms) with slang (informal, in-group, often short-lived).
- Forgetting that mode shapes features: speech is typically less dense, more fragmented and more interactive than writing.
Worked example
A short text message reads: "c u l8r, gotta run!!" Weak answer: "This is casual writing." Strong answer: "Phonological and graphological reduction ('c u', 'l8r') compresses the message for a digital mode, while the numeral homophone 'l8r' and exclamation marks signal an informal tenor and a close relationship between interlocutors."
Rule of thumb
For every feature you name, complete the chain: feature → example → effect on meaning or relationship. If you cannot supply the example, you do not yet know the feature.