Annett Michel Australian English and Culture: The Suffixes "i" and "o" in Australian English

Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University Greifswald
Strehlowweg 6
Hamburg 22605
GERMANY
amichel@ekno.com

Abstract

This paper is part of a larger dissertation project which attempts to show how specific linguistic markers in Australian English relate to the Australian ethos as a part of the concept of culture. Apart from other specific features, it focuses on the discourse particle you know as well as on the suffixes "i" and "o" that set it off to British English.

For instance, you know, commonly regarded as a discourse particle used mostly by women, is analysed as a linguistic marker reflecting the Australian ethos of propagated tolerance towards other people and being a means for cognitive understanding of meaning. It is therefore not only reduced to being perceived as a typical linguistic feature associated with women and situations of power and status.

Furthermore, the "i" suffix is connected to anticipated female properties that objects inherit. On the contrary, the "o" suffix reflects the meaning of objects as being tough and rather negative. It relates to the "male world" of thinking in Australian society. Both suffixes represent through their meanings a symbolic grammatical gender.

The paper is based on spoken and written data.

Poster Materials

Coming soon!



home invited speakers workshops posters contact