woody wrote:

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Cruisin Granny you are spot-on. My daughter ,who is now 37 yrs old , came home one day when in High School with her , currculum, I said what about English, she said it is not compulsory , so i am doing (something else) instead. I couldn;t believe it. But maybe that is the root of the problem.

At least we don't call our bum a fanny (yet)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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 My partner Hylda is an English teacher & she has never heard of English not being compulsory in Australia, she says as far as she knows it has always been Education Department rules that English must be taught in all schools.

Cheers

Jon

Just to clarify my last post, English was compulsory in years 7 and 8 then became and elective for years 9 to 12

Ma wrote:

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Sorry Jon but English is a non compulsory subject these days.  I have three grandaughters, two of whom have finished school and one still school age and all three were given the option of English as a "choice" subject not a compulsory one when they were/are in high school.

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 I'm not sure about other states but up to, at least year 10, in NSW english is a compulsory subject, I'm surprised other states wouldn't have the same but it wouldn't be the first time that differing state laws & regulations have surprised me.

Hylda is only qualified to teach in NSW, NZ & Sth Africa but not elswhere in Australia due to the draconian rules of the Education Departments, which was a bit of a pain when we were traveling.

TW, Hylda is curious to know what state are your grandchildren in?

Cheers

Jon

-- Edited by Hylda&Jon on Thursday 15th of December 2011 12:18:45 PM

Ma wrote:

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I am talking NSW Jon.  My grandaughter has just finished year 9

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That seems strange Ma, Check this web page from the Board of Studies under the title 'School Certificate studies'

http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/schoolcertificate/

If I read it right it says English is compulsory.

Cheers

Jon

 

-- Edited by Hylda&Jon on Thursday 15th of December 2011 12:28:07 PM

Ma wrote:

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Not saying anybody is right or wrong here Jon, just telling you how it was with my Grandaughter.  Thanks I will check it out.

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 Sorry Ma, didn't mean to be contentious, you just got Hylda scratching her head so I looked it up for her.

Maybe how long they do it for isn't the problem. Hylda & many other teachers believe the system they're stuck with is the thing that could do with a lot of fixing.

Cheers

Jon

my kids are 37 and 40 now and English was an option for them in SA at that time. I was flabergasted when my daaughter came home and told me, I envisioned a whole generation of illiterates.

Like you Zoomtopz I went to a particular Maccas franchise in North Qld. when the whole business was fairly new to Australia.....Also like you a young bird served me and asked the usual question "Would you like (I just can't use the word she said.   You know the 'F' word.)  with that?....... I said "No thanks I'll have chips."  "She said we don't sell chips.  You'll have to have the "F" things."  So I said "No thanks" and went down the road to the local fish and chip shop for my feed instead.  

-- Edited by Gary on Thursday 15th of December 2011 06:26:28 PM

"Bird" is of English origin I believe.

Father Ted wrote:

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Hylda&Jon wrote:

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Young bird?...is that the feathered variety or are you using some sort of american slang?

Also arn't fries a shortened name for french fries which are skinny chips so named to distinguish them from there fatter cousins?

 

Cheers

Jon

Bird is quaintly an Aussie slang word for a Charlie,Sort,Widgee,Sheila and maybe a dozen more.We do not use the words french Fries unless we are trying to impress a poor soul who does not know any better.We sell Chips here in OZ.Also it is not very nice to refer to relatives as Fatter Cousins.Not nice. 

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 FT they are fatter cousins mate they are cousins and they are fatter and probably contain a lot more calories than is good for us but I love them anyway.  They can keep those shoestring rellies.

I've been called much worse than a bird, so "bird" is quite pleasant.
Our language has gone to the dogs and the dictionary has to be rewritten, again.
I don't mean to go back to ye olde English, but just the basics which make the language clear to read and to speak.
Muttering is another one of my hates. Speak to me - look at me when you speak to me, and move your lips. Don't mumble to me.
Gee how far have we slipped away? How bad will it get before someone gets firm and sets English and basic Maths as compulsory subjects all the way through school years to year 12. Everyone does it, and the teachers will have to refresh to they can teach it correctly.
The journalists demonstrate their illiteracy every day in the written word. It's an insult to the people who buy the paper and had to read that rubbish.
As an Aussie I find the demise of the language embarassing.

Cruising Granny wrote:

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Our language has gone to the dogs and the dictionary has to be rewritten, again.
I don't mean to go back to ye olde English, but just the basics which make the language clear to read and to speak.

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 Something that's not often recognised about dictionaries is that they do not dictate the meanings of words, but rather reflect the common use, spelling and pronunciation of a word.

When lexicographers (look it up in your dictionary!) compile or update a dictionary they research the use of words and base their entry on that research, adding new words as they come into common usage, (but never removing a word no matter how out of date that word may be) and adding to the meanings of existing words to reflect changes in their usage over time.

They will never rewrite a dictionary (not even one word of it) to suit their own views on language usage.

-- Edited by jimricho on Friday 16th of December 2011 08:59:52 AM

JRH wrote:

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Gary wrote:

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I have also noticed that if you listen to, particularly some of the teenagers speaking these days, you can hear American accents creeping in.........Things like the word "Car" being said as "Cahrrrr" for instance along with other things......... Terms like "Good Jarrrb" instead of "well done" or plain old "congratulations".

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 It just seems to get worse as each year goes by.  Most of our TV programmes are from America and our Labour Party spell their name Labor where is it going to end?

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From The ALP website:

 

Labor or Labour?

A common query from new members relates to the spelling of the word Labor. The records tell us that, in the early days, the ALP was known as both Labor and Labour. The report of the partys federal conference in 1902 was spelled Labor; in 1905 and 1908 'Labour' and from 1912 Labor. This final change is thought to have reflected the influence of the then powerful United States labor movement, and especially the influence of Labors prominent American-born member King O'Malley. The change also happened to make it easier to distinguish references to the Party from the labour movement in general.

Cruising Granny wrote:

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Exactly what I'm getting at. Cheque has become check. Even spell check gets it wrong - Americal spelling again.

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 Oh no! don't tell me they call it 'spell cheque'

My father was a very vocal commentator on how the newsreaders pronounced words while reporting the daily happenings. He would get so worked up and begin a diatribe on how the english language has become "b*stardised" over the years. But, as I pointed out to him, that is how the English language was formed in the first place. It has taken bits and pieces of many different languages over the years and used them in many different ways to suit it's own needs. I believe language as a dynamic thing anyway, and that it has to be, to keep pace with a changing world with such an astonishing amount of new information and terminology that simply wasn't around only a few short years ago. If language didn't evolve with common usage, we'd all still be speaking like a character from a Chaucer novel, and how funny would that be? Yes we still need to be able to form coherrant sentences and be able to be understood in our everyday transactions, but it is impossible for language not to change as modern day needs dictate. So thanx 4 your time, gr8 2 b here m8.. :)

 

edited for a grammatical error... :)

-- Edited by 03_troopy on Saturday 17th of December 2011 03:11:14 PM