-
Essay / How language has changed over time: changing values in Australia
Contemporary Australia contains a mixture of values that have changed and evolved over time or inherited from the past. Therefore, the Australian language is also a fusion of modern English and traditional English, reflecting these contrasting values. There is a question: "How has language changed over time?" the essay explains that the traditional value of camaraderie and egalitarianism is well maintained during the evolution of the language because it constitutes the irreplaceable and quintessential value of Australia past and present. Furthermore, these traditional values are presented to the world through a certain intentional stagnation of language. However, the development of multiculturalism has led to an alteration in the variety of Australian English used in modern society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayFriendship and egalitarianism, as Australia's core and traditional values, have endured while the linguistic features that accompany them change. In Australian language, a myriad of old slangs such as "galah" (fool), "porcy" (lie) have disappeared, as they have been forgotten or replaced; an example of this replacement is the American slang "bro" which begins to replace "mate", reflecting the fact that Australian slang has been influenced by external cultures. However, these linguistic changes do not represent any change in values, as camaraderie is preserved, with the new slang still working to reduce social distance and build group membership. Likewise, taboo language has even changed to better present egalitarianism. The example of widespread swearing such as "fuck me", "you're a good cunt" demonstrates that important taboo language was seen as a method of positively expressing emotions and decreasing social distance. Furthermore, this generalization of taboo language contains an additional meaning of egalitarianism, as swearing is available with people of different social class and status, where a superior and staff may speak taboo language. Therefore, even the Australian language has seen changes in slinguistic and taboo language, the core value of these features has not changed and even contributes to modifying English to create better relevance with values. As a global country, Australia has subjectively contributed to a certain linguistic evolution which supports the establishment of Australian identity and values. The accent, as a distinctive feature of Australian English, is beginning to become famous around the world. For example, Wikipedia announced that the Australian broad accent is the most popular accent in the world, since former Prime Minister Julia Gillard introduced the broad accent in a public speech. This reveals that the Australian accent is beginning to become evident around the world to establish the “Australian” identity. Additionally, Australians are beginning to develop code-switching with foreign tourists to demonstrate their Australian accent. People with a cultured and general accent subjectively change their accent to broad because the broad accent is more famous, which revealed that some language usage changes due to the subjective intention of introducing Australia. In addition, the Australian language has also gained worldwide attention. The example of “G'day” “arvo” has been recognized abroad and reveals that traditional language and values are presented to the world. These examples illustrate that Australian citizens intend to show more.