HCI 2023 Prelim Paper 2

HWA CHONG INSTITUTION JC2 Preliminary Examinations Higher 2 CANDIDATE NAME CT GROUP 22A/S CENTRE NUMBER INDEX NUMBER ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LINGUISTICS Paper 2 Investigating Language Use in Society No Additional Materials are required. 9508/02 18 September 2023 3 hours READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST An answer booklet will be provided with this question paper. You should follow the instructions of the front cover of the answer booklet. If you need additional answer paper ask the invigilator for a continuation booklet. Answer three questions: you must answer at least one question from Section A and at least one question from Section B. Answer each question on a FRESH page. At the end of the examination, insert any additional booklets that you have used into the 12 -page booklet. All questions carry equal marks. You are reminded of the need for good English and clear presentation in your answers. A reference chart of IPA Phonemic Symbols is provided at the end of this Question Paper. This document consists of 10 printed pages. [Turn over

2 Section A: Language Variation and Change Answer at least one question from this section. Answers should demonstrate awareness of wider geographical/historical/social perspectives (as appropriate) in relation to English language. Examples may be drawn from written or spoken English, or from both. Do not repeat material in your answers to different questions on this Paper. 1 Read Texts A(i) and A(ii) and then answer the following question. Discuss in detail significant issues related to English as a global language. You should include a range of examples and/or ideas from Texts A(i) and A(ii), and from your wider studies of the English language, with detailed reference to lexis, grammar, syntax and discourse as appropriate. [25] Text A(i) is an adapted article (2023) from the website of The Economist. In northern Europe, a backlash against English is under way. Many citizens of Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden are fluent in English and often impress tourists with their command of the language. This aptitude has also prompted controversy, however, as universities have become excellent, international institutions offering courses taught mostly—or even entirely—in English. Some citizens of the Netherlands and Nordic countries wonder what space will be left for their national languages if their flagship universities increasingly do not teach in it. Linguists call it “domain loss”. The language does not die out, since new generations of children continue to be brought up with it, but speakers use it in fewer academic contexts. In June, Robbert Dijkgraaf, Minister of Education in the Netherlands, announced that at least two- thirds of teaching in undergraduate programmes would have to be in Dutch. University leaders took it badly. The head of the Eindhoven University of Technology has said that “for a number of courses we can’t even find professors who can speak Dutch,” citing artificial intelligence as an example. The worry is that a language like Dutch, if neglected in academic contexts, will eventually lack the vocabulary needed for cutting-edge topics. People discussing such subjects will have to pepper their Dutch with English words—until, that is, talking this way gets so cumbersome they switch to English entirely. It risks leaving the impression that Dutch is somehow unworthy, feeding a vicious cycle. 5 10 15

3 Text A(ii) is adapted from a Reddit post. The world is too obsessed with English. By vesetechet: Probably an unpopular opinion here, but I think the world's obsession with English is to everyone's long-term detriment. It allows the unchallenged dominance of the art, culture, and worldview of a handful of English speaking countries. What this means is it leads to greater homogenisation, not diversity. I don't take much pleasure arriving in a major city to realise I may as well be in any other major city in the world. The marginalization of other languages and their culture, etc have got to stop! By [deleted]: I wholeheartedly agree, although many people prefer not to question the current supremacy of English and simply rattle off arguments about "international communication" (as though translators and interpreters didn't exist) and comparisons with Latin and Fr ench (as though the Internet existed when these two were the global languages then). Oh, and some can't bring themselves to say anything more than "well, languages die". By rrrobottt: I am an Italian. When I learned English, it was like jumping from a pond to the ocean. The number of people I could now interact with, websites I could use, movies, shows and books I could now enjoy in their original language (or enjoy at all) was staggering, to the point that I felt sorry for the people who didn't know English well enough to do this. Now I'm curious, is there any language that is comparable to English for the amount of opportunities it offers to you once you learn it? 5 10 15 20

4 2 Read Texts B(i) and B(ii), and then answer the following question. ‘The Internet is fostering new kinds of creativity through language’ (Crystal). Discuss in detail how technology has shaped the English language, and people’s attitude towards it. You should include a range of examples and/or ideas from Texts B(i) and B(ii) and from your wider studies of the English language, with detailed reference to lexis, grammar, syntax and discourse as appropriate. [25] Text B(i) an adapted blog post (2021) on the website of a Public Relations and Marketing agency. The impact of technology on the words we use Now, I’m aware that not all of you see technology’s impact on language as wholly positive. Indeed, many polyglot purists view technology as downright corrosive, vehemently wagging their tongues at the emojis and ‘textspeak’ they feel have invaded their mother tongue. ‘Cya’, ‘I *really* hate him’, ‘SHUT. UP’, ‘: )’ Such ways of speaking, they feel, are lazy, uncouth, even vulgar. But I ask you, dear reader, to suspend your disdain for just a few moments. Because the truth is that technology causes language to evolve in a wholly healthy and natural way, and the changes we see are part of a linguistic tradition that started at the very beginning of written communication. Throughout history, with key events such as the rise and fall of Empires and the arrival of the printing press, the theme remains the same throughout the whole of human history: new mediums bring with them new written conventions, new graphical features, new rules, new expressions and new ways of talking. And from that perspective, the internet is simply the next step in a completely natural evolution. For example, we now use capitals in a more emotive way. ‘WHERE ARE YOU???!’ an angry mother may WhatsApp her teen son/daughter if they stay out too late. And it’s not just capitals. The old rules of writing, set down hundreds of years before we had computers, are simply too inflexible for the digital world. In order to convey the immediacy and personality of a conversation in written form, rules need to be broken. You would never see these changes in ‘standard’ writing. And perhaps that’s just the point: informal digital communication isn’t ‘standard’. In many ways, texting, emailing and instant messaging has more in common with spoken English than written. It has a rawness and immediacy that simply doesn’t come when, for example, one is slogging through the third draft of this blog. So, with all that in mind, I say embrace the newly coined words. Slather your texts in emojis. Split infinitives in your tweets. Use ca