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5. Qualitative Study on Hypocoristics in Australian English

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DIPLOMARBEIT / DIPLOMA THESIS Titel der Diplomarbeit / Title of the Diploma Thesis „No Biggie! No Worries! An Empirical Investigation of the Australian English with a Focus on its Use of Hypocoristics“ verfasst von / submitted by Alina Czerny angestrebter akademischer Grad / in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Magistra der Philosophie (Mag. phil.) Wien, 2018 / Vienna, 2018 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt / A 190 344 299 degree programme code as it appears on the student record sheet: Studienrichtung lt. Studienblatt / Lehramtsstudium UniStG degree programme as it appears on UF Englisch UniStG the student record sheet: UF Psychologie und Philosophie UniStG Betreut von / Supervisor: Prof. Mag. Dr. Barbara Kryk-Kastovsky sponsored by The University of Vienna To my wonderful Mum - Thank you for always being here for me! Acknowledgements I would like to use this opportunity to say Thank You and Danke to the people who have supported me during this, sometimes very challenging, process of writing and finishing my thesis. First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor Professor Kryk-Kastovsky. Thank you for your interest in my topic from the beginning onwards, your motivational conversations and constructive feedback at any time. I am really thankful that you encouraged me to take on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to conduct my research in Brisbane. Thank you also for establishing a network with Professor Goddard for me, which enabled me to come back to Australia and experience a face-to-face research situation with the Australian participants of my study. I am very happy to have had such an encouraging and engaging supervisor like you. Secondly, I would like to thank Professor Cliff Goddard for your open ear when I was still in the process of developing my topic. Thanks to your inspiring and enrichening advice, I could narrow down my topic and find an interesting focus for my research and study. Thank you for co-supervising me during my stay in Brisbane, for your engagement, interest and for your input and thoughts concerning the empirical part of my thesis. Thank you also to my friends who have supported me during my whole studies, no matter if it was at home or thousands of kilometres away from home. It is very special to have friends like you who are here in so many different situations and also during this demanding time of finishing my degree. I would also like to thank my friend Anna for being my English-buddy throughout the studies and for your support and helpful advice on my thesis. Thank you Corey for being part of this project from the start onwards and listening to my plans and ideas for my thesis. Thank you for encouraging me again and again to continue working and writing on it, especially when it was difficult and challenging. I am very grateful that you motivated me to keep at it and for simply being here for me when I needed someone to talk to. Thanks for always making me laugh and encouraging me. Finally, a very special and big Thank you goes to my parents who are always supporting me in so many different ways and situations. I can’t say how thankful I am for everything you’re doing for me, from encouraging me to go on adventures to simply being here for me with your advice, thoughts and love, even on the other side of the world. It is thanks to you that I am where and who I am right now and I am so proud and grateful to have parents like you. Danke für alles, Mama und Papa! Thanks to all of you and everyone who has been participating in my interviews. It is all of your support and encouragement that has enabled me to start and finish this thesis and my studies. Table of contents List of abbreviations ................................................................................................................... i List of figures ............................................................................................................................ ii List of tables ............................................................................................................................. iii 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1 2. The history of Australian English .................................................................................. 2 2.1. Overview of Australia’s settlement history ........................................................................ 2 2.2. Emergence of Australian English ....................................................................................... 3 2.2.1. Dialect levelling ....................................................................................................... 5 2.2.2. London influence ...................................................................................................... 7 2.2.3. Mixing Bowl Theory ................................................................................................. 9 2.2.4. Social varieties from the beginning onwards......................................................... 11 3. Characteristics of Australian English .......................................................................... 13 3.1. Definition of Australian English ....................................................................................... 13 3.2. English in Australia ........................................................................................................... 14 3.2.1. Standard Australian English .................................................................................. 14 3.2.2. Indigenous varieties and ethnolects in Australia ................................................... 15 3.3. Linguistic characteristics of Standard Australian English ................................................ 18 3.3.1. Phonetics ................................................................................................................ 19 3.3.2. Stress and intonation .............................................................................................. 23 3.3.3. Lexis ....................................................................................................................... 24 3.3.4. Syntax ..................................................................................................................... 26 3.4. Variation within Australian English ................................................................................. 27 3.4.1. Regional variation.................................................................................................. 27 3.4.2. Social variation ...................................................................................................... 37 4. Hypocoristic Word Forms ............................................................................................. 44 4.1. Definition of hypocoristics ............................................................................................... 44 4.2. Morphology of hypocoristics ............................................................................................ 45 4.3. Hypocoristics in Australian English ................................................................................. 47 4.3.1. Morphology of hypocoristics in Australian English .............................................. 47 4.3.2. The meaning of hypocoristic categories in Australian English ............................. 53 4.3.3. Australian cultural concepts and values ................................................................ 62 5. Qualitative study on hypocoristics in Australian English .......................................... 67 5.1. Method .............................................................................................................................. 68 5.2. Results ............................................................................................................................... 73 5.2.1. Place names ........................................................................................................... 73 5.2.2. Common nouns....................................................................................................... 77 5.2.3. First names ............................................................................................................. 96 5.2.5. Hypocoristics and their representation of cultural values in Australia............... 101 5.3. Discussion ....................................................................................................................... 107 6. Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 108 7. References ..................................................................................................................... 110 8. Appendix ....................................................................................................................... 116 List of abbreviations AUS Australia AusE Australian English AQI Australian Questioning Intonation HRT High Rising Tone NE North-East NSW New South Wales NZ New Zealand mAusE modern Australian English RP Received Pronunciation SAusE Standard Australian English SC South-Centre SE South-East SW South-West VIC Victoria QLD Queensland i List of figures Figure 1 Vowels in AusE and RP ............................................................................................ 19 Figure 2 Diphthongs in AusE .................................................................................................
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