Paper 2 - Questions with guidance and advice

Questions: http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/english/AQA-77012-SQP.PDF

Commentary: http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/english/AQA-77012-COM.PDF

Student response: http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/english/AQA-77012-CEX.PDF

Bristol University Grammar Guide

http://www.bristol.ac.uk/arts/exercises/grammar/grammar_tutorial/index.htm

a) Handy for revision
b) Structure

• punctuation
• discourse and graphology
• form, purpose, audience
• syntax – simple, compound, complex;  main and subordinate clauses;  spoken language = utterance, written language = sentences; functions of syntax: imperative, interrogative, exclamative, declarative

c) Lexis

• Semantics
• Pragmatics
• Field-specific lexis

d) Essays/exam responses

e) Grammar and lexis
f) Form, purpose, audience
g) Handy for revision

English is weird

This shows how the pronunciation of specific words can alter the meaning of them in the English language. When homonyms and homographs are used in the same sentence, you begin to realise how weird the English language really is!

Dear Ms Morgan: in grammar there isn’t always one right answer

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/nov/03/morgan-grammar-test-right-answer-spag-english-spelling-punctuation-grammar

What does your emoji usage say about you?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/11962871/What-does-your-emoji-usage-say-about-you.html

This article discusses how emoji use varies around the world and what your emoji use says about you. It discusses whether or not emoji is becoming a language of its own and suggests that the interpretations of a single emoji would have to narrow before this would be possible.

Language and Identity

Standard English - formal register, language of power, expected in professional environments - signifies status, perhaps an indicator of social class, language of academia

Slang - informal language

Dialect - words, phrases and grammatical structures dependent on your region

Taboo - offensive, inappropriate, unacceptable language, including swearing

Technology influenced words and phrases - words that are normally associated with technology, e.g. "lol", "FaceTime" etc

Neologisms - coinage, new words - e.g. Oxford English Dictionary add words all the time; recent additions include "bestie", "selfie" and "emoji"

Occupational register - often associated with standard English, based on a shared understanding

Received pronunciation - 'correct', prestigious accent, formal, language of power

Regional accent - the way you pronounce certain words based on where you're from, multiple accents for each individual - accent may vary based on contextual features

Language and Identity

"One of the most fundamental ways we have of establishing our identity, and of shaping other peoples' views of who we are, is through the use of language" ~ Joanna Thornborrow (2004)